Nothing Lasts Forever
by Tru Mel Meiko Mei Ling
Summary: Very mature and deep. Shadow has been taunted and disturbed by dark voices from his past and is on the verge of no longer caring about continuing to have a past. Meanwhile Rouge gets orders from the president to hunt him down and turn him in for testing.
1. Stronger Than Hate

Shadow and Rouge in…

_**Nothing Lasts Forever…**_

"_Weapons have no need for a conscience. If the people of this world ever want peace they must destroy us."-_ **Shadow**

--

Although he had changed his ways, the voices of the dark never left him.

Lost in the spiraling dark depths that he once eagerly embraced, Shadow aimlessly drifted in the abyss of his own dank memories, as the nostalgia of his past as a former pawn of darkness plagued his subconscious mind. There were voices—voices that he had never heard before, and very few he knew. Both filled his mind with atrocities and accusations that rendered him nearly drowning in his own fragmented memory.

**Traitor…**

**Liar…**

**Hero…**

**Destroyer…**

His blurred mind gave him no peace as the voices of apparitions lost over the years surrounded him, and bound him in an intangible encasing, much similar to the void encircling his heart. He cursed them, but they still remained, unfazed by his otherwise empty threats.

They began to taunt him, torturing his mind by forcing him to cease all attempts to live an actual life. He felt part of him resonate with their words, as if he were still one of them.

Their deceptively persuasive words nearly broke his will to resist the temptation the darkness once bestowed upon him with its blood-stained hands—his request of ultimate, unlimited power.

But, he threw it all away. All the falseness, all the misconceptions and his unquenchable thirst for destruction and power he tossed aside…just to give hope to humanity…

**A false hope…**

**Traitor…**

**Coward…!**

"You're wrong!" Shadow yelled, awakening with a start. With sweat beading his brow, and his chest heaving from lack of air, Shadow pressed a fist into the fur on his chest and frantically opened his eyes. A dark and cold surrounding was all he could see and from that, he stopped breathing, his mind racing. "What's happening to me…?" he choked out in forced whispers. "Where am I…!"

He began coughing from lack of air. 'Is this an illusion caused by my past…?' he pondered quickly in his mind. He then shut his eyes and allowed his lungs to be satiated with needed oxygen before opening them again.

He then found himself to be in Central Highway, in the middle of the street. He was indeed in darkness, but to his partial relief, not the same as the darkness in his dreams. Still choking a bit from rapidly trying to regain the proper air, he placed one hand on the concrete and tried to stand. But his legs wouldn't cooperate. Annoyance was built upon exhaustion as Shadow closed his eyes and unhesitatingly fell backwards. He grimaced as his body met with the steel-like feel of the cold concrete. His mind continued to wander despite his moment of weakness.

'How did I get here…?' he pondered amongst his battered thoughts '…No. It doesn't matter. This is what I get for trying to change the impossible. Wanting to give hope the people of this planet, to create a life worth living for myself…to yearn for the heart of another…'

Dispirited, he lifted his lids from his devoid eyes and fixed their gaze on a collaboration of nothingness in the sky. Such a defeated expression seemed to sway the emotions of the heavens as its mournful tears lightly fell around him. His empty features remained unwavered and unchanged, yet his mind continued its onslaught. '…I was created as a weapon… Such primitive emotions weren't supposed to exist in me…'

From that thought, a vivid illusion played by his eyes as he recalled the words of that hedgehog. '_Weapons aren't supposed to have hearts. But both you and Emerl do! You guys…you aren't just weapons!' _Through narrowed eyes, Shadow discarded the image and replaced it with another, as he led a frown across his rain-pelted lips. "…Maria…"

It was her desire to bring hope to humanity, not his own. His mind buzzed as his thoughts assimilated with the dark ones of his past, making him believe that he had nothing else to live for. His promise to Maria had been fulfilled, the world's humanity had been saved, everyone else had a purpose to live except him.

Anything he'd try to destroy, he'd end up saving. The sheer thought of a weapon with a self-terminating program also having a 'heart' caused his lip to curl and he effortlessly closed his eyes.

'What good is a weapon with a heart…?' he thought, laying with his arms spread-eagle. With is mind again becoming plagued with aimless thoughts, the emotionally battered hedgehog turned his head to his left side and slowly opened his eyes. Through the thin sheet of the rain, his clouded eyes traced over his open palm. Narrowing his eyes, he curled his hand into a fist and noticed something was missing.

At that moment, the concrete beneath him began to vibrate. He slightly sat up and saw a truck coming towards him. His mind raced as his body began to react to move out of the way, but for some reason he resisted. He kept his dull eyes on the roaring vehicle as it neared closer, almost ignoring the fierce pelting of the rain against his already soaked body. He swore he could see the truck baring the letters G.U.N. across its fender. From deep within his being, he felt an empty chuckle rise to his throat. "So this is how it ends? I have nothing left to live for…" he spoke aloud to the voices in his mind, but primarily for his own reassurance.

The truck's horns blared as it was mere feet from Shadow, and he casually allowed another chuckle to pass then laid back down. Lifting his vacant eyes to the heavens, a brief memory flashed through his mind, bringing a faint smile to his lips, and sending a rush of warmth throughout his body. Such a precious memory brought as much contentment as it did sorrow and pain. Closing his eyes again, he muttered the name of his 'ally', unable to fight back the remorse that nipped at his heart.

Ready for the end to come, Shadow spread out his arms and awaited the impact. In a low and remorseful voice that amplified the wrenching in his heart and felt as heavy as the pulsing rain crashing down, two final words passed his lips. "…Forgive me…"

"…Rouge? Agent Rouge, did you hear what I just said?"

"Huh...?" Rouge murmured, lifting her vacant eyes to the large monitor in front of her where the President's image resided. She had suddenly drifted aimlessly into her thoughts and hardly heard a word of her orders. "I'm sorry, Sir." She spoke with quick authority and promptly recomposed herself. "What's my next assignment?"

Acknowledging her undivided attention, the president nodded and cleared his throat. "Our recent authorities, as well as myself, have been pleased with your work on collecting Dr. Gerald's secret files on the Gizoid."

Rouge smiled slightly at the compliment. "It wasn't easy, but still manageable."

"Indeed. Well, as you know, along with the Gizoid's research, we also have retained secret information of the ultimate life form known as Shadow, and the prototype, which was the Biolizard."

'Shadow!' Hearing the name of her mysterious comrade caused Rouge's heart to jump against her chest and she quickly placed a hand to it.

"What about the ultimate life form?" she pressed, trying to sound as professional as she could without letting on any other emotion.

Wordless for a moment, the president took hint of the irritation in his agent's voice and raised an eyebrow. "Since the original prototype has been destroyed, specifically by it's completed counterpart, a discussion took place and a decision was made."

"What?" she snapped, her words slipping out unintentionally. "There was a discussion and I wasn't told anything of it?"

"I'm sorry, Rouge, but you are not in the same league of authorities that confirm actions to be executed or withheld. You simply carry them out."

Angry, Rouge opened her mouth to gravely retaliate from being treated like a mere pawn, but held her tongue. Instead she crossed her arms and sighed. "Fine. So what do you want me to do about it? Go after the ultimate lifeform and bring him back to the 'authorities'?"

With a small smile at her agitated, yet whimsical proposition, the president nodded. "Precisely."

Rouge winced. "What…?"

"Well, then, you have your orders. Your reward will be the same as always, correct? 5 pounds of jewelry, nothing more and nothing less."

"Yes, but—"

"That will be all. I'll see to it that you have 24 hours to claim this subject and have it brought in for testing."

Rouge's eyes widened as a small gasp escaped her. "Testing?" she repeated, raising her voice "Just what do you need to do testing for!"

"I said that will be all." he confirmed sternly. Then his features softened. "Since you feel so strongly about this mission, I'll be generous and give you 48 hours to obtain his information and bring him in."

A flicker of an unsatisfied emotion flashed by her eyes as Rouge watched the image of the president nod to her, then sign off. The moment he did, she kicked the base of the monitor. "OH, YOUR GENEROSITY IS SO APPRECIATED!" she sarcastically yelled at the blank screen. With a grunt, she crossed her arms and leaned her back against the screen. "Of all the things I have to put up with…" She paused and her tense features softened into a concerned expression as she recalled his words. "…Testing…? What could Shadow be tested for…?"

She sighed. "That hedgehog…he's always getting into something. I never knew he'd be so popular…I can't seem to go anywhere without his name popping up somewhere. And to think I came to get a new mission so I could get my mind off-" she trailed off, her mind clasping a new thought. "I haven't heard from him in a while. …I wonder how he's doing…" Aimlessly, her mind began to wonder, then she shrugged it off. "Well, there's no use staying here thinking about it." With that, she opened the office door and froze in shock of the merciless downpour that awaited her.

"Wh-what is this!" she exclaimed.

A streak of lightening ripped through the dank sky and caused her to purse her lips and fold her arms. "…What a day for a mission…" she sarcastically claimed. Then, with a shrug, she folded her wings just above her head to prove as a temporary umbrella and stepped out into the rain. Almost the same moment she did, another bold strike of lightening snaked through the sky and created a pooled flash of light between the thick clouds, illuminating a large vehicle pile-up directly beneath it in the center of Central Highway.

Twitching her wings in slight discomfort, she inched them higher over her head and gave the sight before her, her full attention.

There were at least 5 cars that were nearly stacked onto one another and a large truck, whose trailer end nearly dangled off the edge of the highway. It was as if it tried to swerve out of the way of something in the street.

She found herself squinting amongst both the rain and the sudden anxiety she felt to get a better view of exactly what happened from where she stood. But her vision, in addition to the hindrance the weather added to it, was limited.

Shivering from the rain and from the sudden twinge of worry twisting in her heart, Rouge bit her lip, and took a few more steps out into the rain. "I'd have to fly to get there, I can't get a good view from here…"

Confirming her actions, she prepared to unravel her wings, when a crackled bolt of lightening crashed a little less than a foot away from where she stood. With a gasp, she jumped back. "Maybe this is a bad idea…" she mumbled, glancing towards the pile-up. She had the feeling that an invisible entity was trying to keep her away from it, but something deep inside of her burned with the emotion to get to the bottom of this ordeal.

"Something's here that's sorely out of place." She plainly spoke to herself, still eyeing the highway for any hints as to what caused such an accident. "It could have just been the rain, but, a pile up like this is unnatural…This place hardly ever gets a lot of traffic. This is usually where Shadow…" she suddenly trailed off, speaking her comrade's name in a faint whisper from the reality that came to her.

"Shadow…Shadow had to have caused this!" she cried, already opening her wings and dashing closer to the highway. The relentless impulse of the rain eagerly attacked her unprotected body, but she ignored the piercing sting of the icy rain pelting her fur, and frantically eyed the crash-site while random thoughts flashed through her mind.

Around Sonic and the others, Shadow always spoke of himself being a weapon and being nothing more. While he was around her, he hardly ever mentioned such atrocities…

He had actually seemed caring and focused on leading a better life.

' _I cannot allow myself to die just yet…'_

"Shadow…" she uttered, holding back threatening tears that dared to mingle with the rain "You better not have been lying to me…!"

Without another word, she kicked off the ground and began to steady her weight in the air and find balance amongst the almost overpowering force of the icy daggers.

Impatiently flapping her wings, Rouge tried to build a powerful momentum and ride the air currents as she neared closer to the highway. Peering down, she saw a mixture of bewildered and anxiety-filled humans as they ran from their cars and crowded around a spot on the near the truck. Just watching them frantically move about got that uneasy feeling in her heart to grow and almost become sickening. "What happened…" Her confused and troubled words tumbled from her lips, unnoticed, as she was almost close enough to land. The moment, her wings slowed their descent, the confused and awed eyes of the bystanding humans lifted to her. Their arms slightly shielded their faces from the downpour of the merciless rain, but they didn't see the concerned bat-woman. Instead, their eyes beheld the image of an angel descending from the tempestuous heavens to help soothe the sudden calamity.

Ignoring the silent praise their eyes gave and looking away, she felt her heart painfully skip a beat as her eyes met with a morbid sight.

The dark and crimson hedgehog lay sprawled out in the middle of the highway completely unmoving and lifeless.

"Shadow…!" she cried, not knowing of her frantic call, and flew immediately to his decrepit side.

' _Shadow! Shadow…please answer me!'_

"…Rouge…" The slightest hint of a whisper barely escaped from his lips. "…Calling me…"

'_Shadow! Shadow, please!'_

Laying in a void of nothingness, the one being called said nothing more as he tried to block out the woman's concern. '…Just let me die…' he thought.

"…Shadow…is that you?"

Upon hearing the lost, yet familiar soft voice creep into his ears, the one being addressed turned his attention away from the engulfing emptiness around him and sought the frame of the one person he thought he had lost forever.

"Ma…Maria..?"

With delicate hands clasped in front of her, the girl nodded sadly. "Yes, Shadow…It's me."

The bewildered hedgehog swiftly rose to his feet and stepped closer to the former fragment of his past. A rare expression of joy played across his features, then just as quickly as it had appeared, it faded into the dark depths of the surrounding void. "Maria…why are you…?"

"Here?" the composed girl finished for him. Seeing his expression remain unchanged, she unknowingly led a loose lock of blonde hair behind her ear and stepped closer to him. "…I became lost in-between worlds…the same as you have…"

He quirked an eyebrow, yet continued to near closer to his friend. "But Maria, you shouldn't be here… Your death…" he paused after saying those words, clenching a fist and averting his attention away from her "…was for a much better cause…"

Watching him suffer, the delicate young girl gracefully glided over to him, and touched his chin with a fragile finger. The remorseful hedgehog felt an unfamiliar warmth rise to his face as he soon found his eyes met with hers. Her compassionate crystals gazed at him warmly, yet there was a deep sadness lingering in the midst of them.

Captured by the sight, he parted his lips to speak, but found no sound as she neared closer to him and encircled her slender arms around his neck. Unsure of what to expect, he closed his eyes and tried to release his tension and allowed himself to be soothed and comforted by the soft touch of her embrace. "Maria…" he uttered as his hands somehow found their way around her frail waist and brought her to his chest, hugging her gently.

There was a slight movement from her that was unknown to him until she began to shake. Slightly, he pulled her away to look at her and was surprised to find tears welling in those lucid eyes of hers. Softly, he whispered her name and cupped her cheek with his hand. The moment he made contact, she shut her eyes and released her sorrowful tears, and they were quickly wiped away with a brush of this thumb.

He wasn't sure if his actions were actually helping calm her situation, but all was made clear when a small smile laced across her pale lips, and in return, he did the same.

With an endearing warmth brimming in her eyes amongst the remnants of sadness that still lingered, the young girl leaned forward and planted a kiss on his forehead.

He lifted his eyes to hers, not knowing what to say but her name. The girl allowed a faint sniffle to pass before stepping away from his embrace and slightly turning away from him.

Confused and slightly hurt that she separated from him so quickly got the hedgehog to wordlessly eye her, while his hands curled into fists from his former acquisition.

"… Shadow…Tell me…Just how did you get here?"

The hedgehog hesitated. "How did you…?"

Expecting the question, the girl turned to him with a thin and forced smile. "I chose to stay here. …It could have been out of guilt for leaving you the way I did… I wanted to stay close…so I became a…wandering spirit, neither good nor evil, just lingering in the void of an in-between world. I hoped that I would see you again, but…not like this…"

"But why did you do it?"

She shook her head and wiped invisible tears from her cheek, anticipating their arrival.

"I had no other choice…"

"That can't be…!" he shouted, directing his vociferation at neither of them. "You could have gone to a better place then be forced to remain here, wandering an empty void with nothing to offer you. You deserve so much more, Maria!"

Effected by his words, she wiped away a stray tear, and shook her head. "I know it was selfish…But why are you here? It was completely unexpected if you came here just to see me…I waited so long to see you, but, I imagined you were fulfilling your destiny on Earth as my grandfather and myself hoped you would!"

"Maria I—" Taken aback by her words, he trailed off and looked to the side, away from her. "I…I kept my promise to you. I gave the people of the world a place to live and be happy without the cost of their lives… I already did my deed. There's nothing left for me…!"

"What…?" the young girl looked to him with a stern expression he had never seen upon her composed and serene features. "How can you say such things, Shadow! You were created to bring peace, not only to the world, but to yourself as well!"

Not believing her words, he scoffed and clenched a fist. "I can never be happy…I was created as a weapon of war and destruction before anything else. A war machine should have no purpose for having emotions and free will." He closed his eyes, as brief memories passed behind them. "The Professor made a mistake in creating me… If I am to fight, I shouldn't have these…emotions…" He then made an irritated gesture with a quick movement of his fist and glared at it. "…I had to end it…for the people…and myself. Like you, I…I had no other choice!"

"Stop it, Shadow!" the young girl yelled, rushing towards him and slapping him squarely across the face. The hedgehog growled and covered the spot she struck while glaring at her. For a moment, he had forgotten who he was directing his anger to, and his fiery emotion quickly transformed into an expression of shock. "Why, Maria…!"

The girl had her head lowered and her shoulders shook lightly. Choking back her emotional sobs, she lifted her disheartened features to him and tried to place her words. "I can't allow you to disrespect my grandfather… or yourself!"

"Maria…" he simply stared at her. He had never seen her so upset before.

"I know you're lost and confused, but you have more to live for than what you think! Following orders wasn't all you were made for, Shadow! You need to stop hiding the truth from yourself, you are not living a lie!"

Bewildered and amazed at the same time, he couldn't believe what he was hearing. She had always seemed compassionate and reserved, but now, she was setting free her pent-up emotions in a moment of truth. Not knowing of his reaction, he took a step forward to her, but she held up her hand to hold him off. "…I can't believe you would do something so irresponsible without thinking…! You're not the Shadow I remember…!"

He shuddered as her words pierced through him like a jagged dagger, slicing through his heart and dragging parts of it down to his stomach in a tattered and ripped trail. He felt a cackle echo from within him, but it wasn't his own. He narrowed his eyes, knowing the disturbed voices from the fragments of his past within him were slowly resurfacing. He said nothing as his eyes traced over the form of the pained girl in front of him.

"Shadow…" she spoke quietly, as her stern exposure was replaced by her composed one. She looked to him with a mixture of sadness and hope wavering in her eyes. "I feel sorry for you for becoming lost, but that still isn't a reason to end it all. You never know when something promising is for you until it's ripped from your side and never able to return to you again. Even if you are confused, you shouldn't give up hope…especially while you are still alive."

"Still alive…?" he repeated, unaware of how uneven his voice sounded "…But I…"

"You are alive as long as there are those that show care for you." she replied with a hint of an encouraging smile.

"…" Unable to find any words, the hedgehog said nothing, but looked to her with an understanding emotion glinting in his eyes.

'_Shadow…!'_

"Rouge…?" he whispered, looking for where the voice came.

The moment he became willing to see her, a large screen of light severed the surrounding void and an image from the world below made itself visible to his eyes.

Kneeling to get a closer look, he placed his hands on the image and instantly took note of the pile-up on the highway.

'_Shadow…'_

Hearing her wavering voice call to him again, he looked closer and saw her on her knees, hugging something close. The rain had continued to fall as it had before, and seemed to encircle a sort of curtain around her. He noticed that her fur and hair had been tremendously drenched and matted, indicating that she had endured the icy liquid for quite some time.

"Why is she still there…? She should have left me…"

He continued to watch as an ambulance arrived and its occupants rushed to her, trying to take his body away from her. She only held him closer and showed them her government ID.

He winced as the realization washed upon him. He never imagined someone could have so much care towards someone like him. Drawn into her actions, he found himself leaning closer to the projection. The quiet young girl who stood beside him smiled to herself, then gave him a gentle push.

Feeling himself being torn away from the void where he lingered, he looked back to the girl who simply nodded and waved to him with a bright smile on her face.

"Thank you Shadow, for living for me. But now, you should live for yourself and your own happiness…"

"Maria..?"

With another nod from her, the girl disappeared and the soft words she left behind were the last thing he heard before darkness consumed him.

_"Sayonara…Shadow the Hedgehog…"_

Still kneeling with Shadow in her arms, Rouge fought the urge to face reality that he was not coming back. With the rain numbing her now icy body, Rouge hung her head over Shadow's shoulder while her shaky fingers combed through his quills. She now realized that he had lied to her and took his own life. It angered her that he would go and do something so reckless and stupid without warning, yet she almost felt sorry for him. Was his life really that painful to endure that he couldn't take it anymore? Trembling a bit, she hunched over, still holding him and whispered his name before allowing a small warm tear slide down her cheek.

The paramedics stood nearby, waiting for word from her to take Shadow. But Rouge wouldn't let them take him. She knew if they did, and he in fact didn't make it, he would be transferred to the top-secret labs of the President and an autopsy would be done. She couldn't bear the thought of that.

Preparing to give up, Rouge began to place him down when she felt his body jump in her arms. Caught off guard, she shrieked and let go of him, causing him to roll from her warmth and onto the nitro-freezing concrete of the street.

She heard a muffled sound come from him out of pain and discomfort and watched as he curled his body into an arch and rolled his head around. He tried to speak, but his words came out in broken phrases and fragments as incoherent words.

Frozen in place as she watched him, Rouge gasped and felt a warm sting pierce the backs of her eyes, as new tears begged to be set free. 'He's alive!' With a quick movement, she rushed to his side and scooped his head into her hand and laid him in her lap.

"Shadow…?" she softly whispered, cupping the sides of his face with her icy gloves. "Are you in there?"

After a few moments of garbled sounds of pain, Shadow shivered, from finally realizing that he was back in his body and the coldness he felt before only doubled. Rouge noticed his suffering and held him close, unraveling her wings and allowing them to fold closely around herself and his shuddering body to keep him warm. She also shielded out the rain as well.

Rubbing his face with her thumbs, Rouge eyed him thoughtfully. Her eyes fleeted between his lips and his eyes, awaiting one of them to open.

As if he could hear her thoughts, Shadow allowed another shiver and groan to pass before hesitantly lifting his heavy eye-lids and meeting his dull rubies with her glossed aquamarine lapiz-lazulis. "…Y...you…" he managed to utter, his words faint and raspy. "…Ro…uge…"

"Yes…Yes Shadow, it's me!" Rouge gently called, trying to keep in most of the overwhelming amount of joy she felt. Tears began to fall from her eyes, unnoticed, as she stroked his cheek with her finger. "I'm here. Are you allright…?"

At this, Shadow didn't reply. Instead, he smiled and mustered a faint chuckle before closing his eyes. "…Heh…Ally…"

Rouge's eyes widened at the nickname he gave to her and through her tears, she smiled. "…You idiot…you have no idea what you put me through this time…I should be angry…but now…I'm glad…that you're back…"

Trailing her eyes over his form, she patiently awaited his response, but received none. A string of fear lashed through her, but she looked to his chest and saw it slowly moving up and down.

"…Knocked out…" she said, gazing at him once more, then she chuckled and half-smiled. "Come on…I'll take you home…"

With those words, she held him close and slowly stood up. Folding her wings back to her sides, she laced one of his arms across her shoulder and one of hers around his waist. With her head up and her grip sturdy, she walked past the bystanders and the paramedics with her trouble-making hedgehog unknowingly trudging beside her.

Wooooooow what a long chapter! Oh well. I felt as if though I had to write this. One other note, for those of you who noticed in the scene between Maria and Shadow, their names were not used to describe what they were doing, like 'Shadow said' or 'Maria smiled'. That was because, they were both wandering souls and were no longer actual beings of life. They only called each other by their names because their souls recognized one another. If there are any other questions, or if you want to say something, you can email me, if you feel it's truly personal.

Stay strong.

-Mel


	2. Trying

Shadow and Rouge in

**Nothing Lasts Forever **

**Phase 2**

"_Death does not make amends. 'Making amends' only exists in life_."- **Savan, Legend of Dragoon**

--

Trudging through the slippery streets, Rouge had to drag her feet to balance the weight of her friend on her shoulder. The stinging rain that bore witness to their suffering gave no signs of stopping as it descended from the tempestuous heavens, giving them no sympathy.

Icy droplets clung to her lashes and her fur, running down the sides of her face and ending at her chin like tiny rivers. Through the heavy sheets of rain, she looked to her comrade, who still remained unconscious. Wordlessly, she trailed her eyes over his face, resting on his lips, then moving up to his eyes, wishing they would open for her.

A taut but blank expression was all he gave.

Watching him as the rain washed over his devoid features, Rouge's mind began to wander.

'He really wanted to end his life…' she thought '…But why…' Eyeing his lips once more, almost pleading for them to part and speak to her, Rouge narrowed her eyes. 'Shadow…you lied to me…'

As if the storming heavens above sensed her tense emotions, a streak of lightening slithered through the sky and crackled into the clouds right above them.

Leading her eyes away from Shadow to glance up to into the sky, Rouge forced herself to set aside her anger. Adjusting Shadow's weight, she then continued her trudge to Club Rouge.

As soon as the front door opened, Rouge nearly dropped Shadow on the floor, he was so heavy, but managed to hold on to the last bits of her strength to haul him over to a sofa. Carefully, she let him roll off her shoulders onto the soft cushions. The moment his weight was gone, Rouge sighed and plopped down on the sofa right next to him. Panting, she slid a drenched lock of hair out of her face, and looked to Shadow. "This…is officially…the last time…I carry you…anywhere!"

The hedgehog said nothing in reply, but shivered from the cold. Regaining her breath, Rouge glanced down at his chest, then back up to his face. He looked peaceful when he slept, but Rouge knew too well that something was wrong. "…You really had me worried this time, Shadow…" she spoke softly "…You really scared me. But now…I won't forgive you for this."

Still no reply, but his body shivered again.

Feeling a shiver of her own, Rouge sighed and quickly began taking off her soaked boots and gloves, and set them aside. Wordlessly, she knelt down next to him, and began unbuckling his shoes one at a time. Removing one and a drenched sock, she placed them aside. She smugly glanced to his bare foot, making note of how large it was, then quickly looked up to his face as if he could hear her sensual thoughts.

He still held the same expression.

Lightly biting her lip, Rouge removed the other, then moved up to his soaked gloves. She unbuckled and removed the right one first, again glancing guiltily up to his face from the size of them. Smirking lightly, she reached for the left one, when she realized one of the buckles was missing. She paused, as she thought back to when she had received an item that resembled a bracelet of some sort that belonged to him.

'He still doesn't have it…' she thought to herself. She had kept the bracelet for months, keeping it in a safe place in her room, and never gave it back to him. '…If it was important to him, why didn't he look for it…?' She wondered, then forcefully shrugged it off. Reaching for his left glove again, a firm hand grabbed her wrist. Rouge winced, and watched as her wrist was placed on his chest, right above his heart.

'Wh-what's he doing…?' she wondered, her eyes fleeting between his face and his hand on hers. '…Shadow you…so you do insist on finding it. That's admirable and protective of you…but I still won't forgive you.' She smiled lightly, pushing his hand off hers, and swiftly pulled off his remaining glove and tossed it aside.

Looking to him, she saw him shudder again. Without much hesitation, and despite what she said before, Rouge carefully laced his arm over her shoulder and lifted him up. Taking slow and steady steps, she carried him into the bathroom and placed him in the bathtub.

Turning on the faucet, the thought crossed her mind to turn on nothing but hot scorching water to get back at him for lying, but she ignored it and turned on both the hot and cold faucets. As the water poured out, she placed her fingers under it to test its temperature.

"You should be fine, now…" she spoke to herself. Gazing at him as the water filled the tub, Rouge crossed her arms and leaned back against the sink.

Her mind drifted back to when she had come out of the office and saw that highway pile-up, knowing that he was responsible. She thought of how depressed and defeated his decrepit body looked while he lay lifeless in her arms. She was almost certain that he wasn't coming back, but to her surprise, he did. He came back to her.

Her eyes narrowed, as she felt her previous emotions come back and sting the back of her eyes. Pushing it away, she shuddered and rubbed her arms, then stepped over to the tub and turned off the water. She was freezing, but figured he needed it more than her. Her eyes slowly drifted to him, as aimless thoughts raided her mind. Then without a word, she turned on her heels and left.

Once in her room, Rouge closed the door behind her and literally peeled her soaked clothing from her body. Shuddering from the cold, she quickly rushed to her closet and pulled out the silkiest robe she had and put it on. When she first bought it, she had cut slits in the back for her wings to pass through freely. Tightening its belt around her waist, she shivered again, then flopped on her bed.

Sighing, she ran her fingers through her matted hair, and gazed up at the ceiling.

After a few moments of silence, she sighed, then rolled onto her stomach. "I'd better call the President…"

With that, Rouge reached over to her nightstand and fished in one of the drawers for her communicator. Moments later, her hand brushed against a cool object and she pulled it out, looking at it with wide eyes. It was the item of Shadow's that she had kept for so long. Her eyes almost became hidden behind her lowered lids as she looked at the bracelet. Then, she placed it next to her on the bed, while going in her drawer again for her communicator. Acquiring it, she flipped it open and dialed in the President's secret number that only his agents knew about. Absent-mindedly, she fingered the bracelet as the line rang, without answer. Instead of hanging up, she decided to leave a message.

"This is Agent Rouge reporting. The Ultimate Life-form has been found and is under my care. He is in a traumatic state and has to be monitored. I'd like permission to hold him for an extended 24 hours to heal from the shock. And also if possible, I'd like to request a DNA sample extraction for his testing, instead of the actual subject. …That is all."

Closing the communicator, Rouge sighed and put it back in her drawer. Lying on her bed, she eyed the bracelet and toyed with it, her mind drifting. 'Shadow…'

**Traitor… Once of the dark will always be of the dark…**

**Open your heart…**

**Don't deserve a second chance…**

With a gasp, Shadow awoke from his unconscious state and began to splash around aimlessly in the tub. Quickly, he gripped the sides of the porcelain and sat perfectly still. His chest heaving from the wild beating of his heart was the only movement on his being. His frantic and aimless eyes fleeted around the room; to his bare hands, then his bare feet as well. He took his nakedness lightly, but felt the slight rush of a blush to his cheeks from the thought of the certain bat that did this to him. He trusted Rouge and knew she had good reason when it came to those close to her. He smiled faintly, too tired to show much of any emotion, and led his attention into the depths of the water he was placed in.

Gazing into it got his mind to remember the rain and his attempt of suicide. He couldn't understand why he hesitated at first. 'Weapons have no need to live…' He closed his eyes in remorse, as the image of Maria and the words she spoke floated into his mind.

Meditating on those very words, Shadow frowned lightly and trailed a numb hand through the water in a nonchalant manner, creating swirls and miniature whirlpools.

At that moment, there was a crash of lightening from outside and Shadow could hear the rain as it continued to pour down mercilessly on the outside neighborhood.

'…Rouge…' he thought, curling his hand into a fist and staring hard into the water, as if it could sympathize with him. 'She's always looking out for me… …Just like before…she must have carried me here…' His brow furrowed. 'Why…why does she care so much for me? …I…I have nothing I can give her…'

**That's right… Nothing…**

"No…" Shadow whispered, barely moving his numb lips "No…I'm…"

**Making her suffer…**

"…That's right… These emotions I have…are meaningless. The fate of a weapon is destruction; nothing more and nothing less…" Shadow paused, clenching both hands into taut fists. "…but…I can't let history repeat itself… I've decided to stand by her and protect her…like she does for me… Even Maria fought to support me…and lost her life because of it. I could never return her help…"

**It's possible…**

Shadow's ears perked up at the soft and wavering voice. It sounded concerned for him, unlike the other voices. It was distant, yet so close. "Maria?" Shadow whispered. Looking up towards the ceiling, he searched for the apparition of his friend in vain. Almost the same moment he did, a bubbling sensation rippled through his body, starting at his feet and steadily rising to his pale face. He only had time to look down at the water, before a hot and sharp pain pierced through his once numb body and shot up to his head.

**Burn traitor…**

With a choked cry, Shadow tried to fight against the sudden boiling temperature of the water, then mustered every bone and muscle in his body to grab the side of the tub and struggle to pull himself out.

"…Hot…too hot…!" he strained out between pulls.

He heard a cackle in the back of his mind, and tried to disperse it, but his struggles almost proved useless against it, he was so drained.

**Traitors can't live…**

**Ageless, not immortal…**

**Die…**

"N…no…" shadow whispered, no longer able to hold up much of a fight. His limbs were tired and had lost their strength from his trauma. Barely hanging onto the edge of the tub, Shadow gathered the last bit of his strength to hold on---to the tub as well as his sanity. "…You're a fool…to think…I can be taken down…that easily…without a fight…!"

**Overreacting…**

**Always covering up the obvious…**

**Always fighting the truth…**

Shadow shut his eyes to block them out. He would have pulled the plug, but that would be taking the easy way out. He wanted to fight for his freedom. "…I'm the Ultimate Life-form…! I fear…nothing…!"

In her room, Rouge had given up on leaving messages on the president's voice mail, and decided to wait until he just called her back, whenever that would be.

With a sigh, she stretched and laid on her back. Her wings twitched under her uncomfortable weight, and she turned on her side with a grumble. Tucking her arm under her head, she reached for the bracelet she had next to her. Her half-lidded eyes searched over the object in both curiosity and sorrow.

"Shadow…" she muttered, looking at his possession from another angle. "I still haven't forgiven you…but…" Rouge trailed off, remembering the first time Shadow had saved her. She closed her eyes in remembrance, unaware of her fingers curling tautly around the bracelet. "He started the trend…and because of that, we're good friends…" Trailing off, she gazed aimlessly to a random side of the room in thought. Silent for a moment, she sat up and placed the bracelet in a pocket on her robe. As she stood up, she made sure her robe was tightened. Opening the door, she hesitated.

A crimson blush rose to her cheeks as thoughts and images went through her mind of Shadow's reaction when he saw her dressed so comfortably in front of him.

'I'm just going to check on him…' she thought, then felt a cold shiver run up her spine. She quickly crossed her arms and rubbed them in an attempt for warmth. She had forgotten that she needed a shower after being out in the icy cold rain for so long, and let Shadow get the tub first.

She shivered again. "Sometimes I just think I go out of my way… But…" With a shrug, Rouge turned on her heels to change her outfit. Just as she was about to close her door, a loud and muffled thud was heard from the bathroom.

"Shadow!" she gasped, not caring of what she had on, and quickly dashed to the bathroom. "Shadow, are you---Shadow!" she yelled, as she beheld the black and crimson hedgehog, who lay sprawled out on his back on the tiled floor shaking and coughing.

Watching him suffer again, Rouge shook her head. 'Why do you keep making yourself suffer, Shadow!' she cried in her mind. 'Why!'

Shaking, Shadow tried to form words, but they came out in painful coughs instead that caused him to curl on his side in a fetal position.

Rouge stared at him, her confused eyes fleeting between him and the bathtub. 'What did he do! Did he…did he CLIMB out!'

" Shadow, you--!" she shouted, rushing to his side on the slippery floor. Placing her arms lightly around him without moving him too much, Rouge tried to get him to look her in the eyes. After another fit of coughing, the hedgehog groggily lifted his clouded eyes to her and shivered in her embrace. "…I-I'm sorry…"

"Sorry!" she spat, trying to hold back her angry tears, "Shadow, you idiot! You could have pulled the plug, you didn't have to force yourself out!"

Shadow winced lightly at her words, then tried to smile. "…You always…come to me…Why…? Why are you always there…?"

Rouge's brow twitched from his casual attitude. Angry, she hit him on the shoulder. "What has gotten into you today, Shadow! You've been acting rather unorthodox, lately and it's always me coming to save your tail!" Her eyes narrowed. "What's wrong with you, Shadow…? You're not acting like yourself… Do you enjoy watching me suffer worrying about you! Do you?"

Shadow stared at her with narrowed eyes as he heard a cackle from deep within him. He actually was making her suffer. The words of that haunting and satanic voice was actually right.

Feeling guilt and remorse rise within him, Shadow couldn't bear to look at Rouge and hung his head in the opposite direction, closing his heavy eyes.

Rouge glared at him; upset at his strange behavior, saddened that he lied to her and tried to end his life, and not knowing if she could tolerate being so close to him ever again.

She felt her heart wrench as she tried to hold back her tears and form coherent words. "Shadow… what happened to you?"

"…"

"Shadow…!"

"…I'm sorry…Rouge."

"Stop repeating yourself…" Rouge sighed "You're not being honest with me Shadow."

"…I'd rather not say…" he uttered, his voice broken and deeper than usual.

It's for her own good… 

"I have your best intentions in mind…" he added, sounding like himself again. He pulled away from Rouge and forced himself to stand. Watching him, Rouge stood with him, a disturbed and hurt glimmer in her eyes.

Turning his back to her, Shadow reached over to the tub and pulled the plug. He could feel the burn of her eyes on him, and he reluctantly ignored it. Instead, he allowed his eyes to follow the whirlpool of water as it disappeared into the depths of the drain. Without knowing, a dark smile inched across his lips and his eyes narrowed. "Hmph. This is my fate…"

**No…it's not…**

"What is your 'fate'…?" Rouge spoke up, unknowingly sounding as if she were mocking his words.

Hearing her respond to his voice, he frowned and glanced at her over his shoulder. "I told you, it was in your best intentions not to know."

Rouge hesitated at Shadow's sudden rudeness. Normally, he would try to cover up his honest words with diversions and hide his true feelings, but now…he was turning into some entity Rouge didn't know.

She wordlessly watched him as he grabbed a nearby towel and dried himself off. Afterwards, he knelt down and began cleaning up the area where he had fallen on the floor.

Rouge could do nothing but watch him as the towel reached her foot. With her in the way, he glared up at her, expecting her to move.

"…You're in the way…" he muttered.

Still unable to speak, Rouge dared a look in his eyes. Gazing deeply into them, she found something that she never thought she would see. There was an enriched and deep pain hidden beneath a layer of a stony glaze. 'Is this Shadow's true self…?' she thought. 'Has he been hiding it from me…all this time…?'

"…Rouge…" he prodded, emotionlessly.

Just as she was about to finally retaliate, her communicator rang.

'That must be the President…How'd he call me back so fast?' she thought. Wordlessly, she gave Shadow one last glare that let him know she was onto him, then turned on her heels and left for her room.

Watching her leave, Shadow felt a small squeeze in his heart, and guilt soon took its place. Pausing his cleaning farce, he sighed and hung his head. "…I don't deserve someone like her…"

**That woman…**

**A weakness…**

Shadow frowned, then stood to his feet and tossed the towel in an aimless direction. '…The both of them…I did nothing to deserve them. Yet they both continue to care…' With a groan, he dragged his hand through his quills, and shook his head.

**Failure…**

**Trying to protect her…**

Shadow said nothing for a moment, finding truth in the voices' usual tainted and tempting lies. Gazing off into the distance, Shadow hesitated, then leaned against the tub. Sulking, he shuddered while trying to hold back threatening tears."…I can't stay here. My suffering is becoming hers, now. …I couldn't bare it if…if…she…" Shadow choked on his words as his body trembled and he began to cry. He inwardly cursed himself for letting things get this far and pushed himself up off the floor. With a growl, he roughly wiped his hot tears with the back of his wrist. "…I need to get out of here… This has to end."

**Useless…**

**A weapon…**

**No heart…**

**No destiny…**

Pained and upset, Shadow ignored the raspy voices, and went into the Living Room to gather his belongs and leave. But once in the room, his attention shifted to the astute sound of Rouge's voice, and he stood near her door, listening intently to her every word.

"Agent Rouge reporting."

"Rouge! Yes. I received your messages. So you've managed to capture the Ultimate Life-form, correct?"

Opening her mouth to speak, Rouge hesitated for a moment, then nervously sat down on the side of her bed that was opposite from her closed door. Clearing her throat, she cupped the mouthpiece part of the communicator and spoke her reluctant words clearly. "Yes sir. I have him."

"Excellent! Excellent!" The President enthused. "And not a moment too soon! Well done. Now, I request that you bring him in immediately. A DNA sample is much to little for me. I need the entire package. He'd be under the most top professional care and will be closely monitored 24/7."

Rouge hesitantly bit her lip, but hid her uneasiness and disagreement. "Before I do, tell me, what's your purpose for wanting Shad--I mean the Ultimate Life-form?"

There was pause, indicating the President's amusement. "Rouge, I've already mentioned to you that only myself and those higher than you should know."

Rouge frowned. "I'm aware of that..."

"Well… Since you did capture him before the deadline, and your efforts are commendable, I'll tell you. The Ultimate Life-form, as encrypted in Dr. Gerald's journals, is a product that is able to never age and live an immortal life! And that…is the key to life itself, don't you see? If mankind were able to live as long as the Ultimate-Life-form, wars and needless killing would cease to exist. People would live like kings in their own kingdoms! Most economical problems would be solved and there would be no need for warfare."

"A world without wars and immortal life? ...That's insane…" Rouge whispered in a tone that was a pure contrast from the President's enthusiasm.

"Hmm? What was that agent?"

Rouge couldn't hold back her opposition any longer and spoke how she actually felt. "I said, that's insane! An endless life may sound beneficial to you, but you have no idea of the cost. Can you imagine what this Ultimate Life-form had to go through because of its so-called immortality? He's been through nothing but anguish and pain his entire existence…and you want to give that to the WORLD!"

"What? Agent, you are not understanding!"

"Oh, I understand perfectly, Mr. President. This is too much. I refuse to hand him over to you."

"How absurd, agent" the President chuckled "You'd go against my instructions? Hm. Very well. In that case, I'll just double your reward. 10 pounds of jewelry for this mission."

Rouge winced. "What! 10 pounds…"

"15 then? 20? I don't care how much you want! Just get the Life-form to me…!"

Rouge paused for a moment, then finally, she spoke. "…Mr. President…"

"Yes? Yes?"

"…The deal…is off."

"What?" the President vociferated.

"It's off! I should have known these so called 'tests' of yours left a bad smell. You'd even dissect him if you had to…wouldn't you…"

"You dishonor me, agent. But because I'm a generous man, I'll give you one more chance, 24 hours, to bring that Ultimate Life-form to me. No strings attached."

Rouge could feel her jaw tense from holding such a conversation. She hung her head, beginning to feel the guilt of her actions.

If she had never called and told the President she had Shadow, she would have been fired and tracked down. And if she declined the President's offers this time, she would still be fired and tracked down---and possibly even eliminated.

She felt as if she had backed her way into a brick wall that was slowly closing in on her.

"I'm sorry Shadow…" she whispered. "I'm sorry I turned my back on you and lied to you. Being angry at you for the same things I should be ashamed of, but…"

"Rouge? Agent Rouge, you are mumbling! Speak up! Are you bringing the Life-form or aren't you?"

Rouge took a deep breath and finally spoke, her voice wavering, only in the slightest. "I…I decline."

"You WHAT?"

"Didn't you hear me? I said I decline!" she repeated, regaining a slither of her confidence.

"So…" the President began, low and sordid "You go against me, eh?"

He laughed. "…I understand now. You said the Ultimate Life-form was a male. Ah yes, I remember, you expressed a great concern when I first addressed this mission to you."

Rouge swallowed and felt a lump in her throat. She knew where this was going.

"So, if you, the world's GREATEST treasure hunter were to turn down the one thing you love most, and at an unlimited supply at that, I'd say you've developed some feelings for this creature…"

"Creature! That's it…" Rouge muttered, her anger building "I can't tolerate some greasy and diabolical human degrading someone he knows nothing about. Better than all the jewelry in this world is a man who I do care for and who enjoys my company more than anyone else. That's something I never had…and I'm not letting him go. Not to you, and not to anyone. I said the deal is off! I resign."

"No…you are FIRED. This won't come easily for you Rouge…You will be collected tomorrow morning. Good day."

The moment he hung up, Rouge hurled her communicator across the room, where it smashed into a wall and shattered into pieces. Rouge stared at it angrily for a few minutes, then abruptly turned to her door. Stepping over to it, she opened her door to tell her friend the news. "Shadow, I need to—" she trailed off.

To her surprise, Shadow had taken up his mid-dry gloves from the Living Room and had already slipped on his shoes.

"Shadow?" Rouge wondered, her words tumbling from her mouth without her knowing, and she curiously walked over to the hedgehog. Acknowledging her, Shadow simply glanced at her while tugging on one of his gloves. He raised an eyebrow in question to what she wanted and Rouge caught on right away. She sighed and toyed with a lock of damp hair with her finger. "You overheard, didn't you?"

Shadow nodded, turning his attention back to his garments. "I did."

Rouge looked away and frowned. "I see…"

Shadow said nothing at first, but managed to sneak a glance at her in her body-glove of a robe. Blushing lightly, he returned his attention to his last glove, and once that was in place, he stepped past Rouge and opened the front door. As soon as it was open, Rouge had to retighten her robe so the wind wouldn't blow it open. She looked to Shadow, who stood perfectly still in the doorway, watching the storm rage on.

"Shadow…?"

"…I'm leaving, Rouge."

"What…?" Rouge exclaimed in an unbelieving whisper and stepped closer to him. "You're upset that I was on an account of business when I found you…?"

Shadow said nothing, but kept his attention on the pouring rain before him.

Feeling at a loss for trying to cover it up, Rouge turned away from him. There was no reason to hide it, now. Ready to tell him the truth, her hands curled into fists as she spoke.

"I did get permission from the President to track you down and turn you in for testing. I was reluctant about it, but, after finding you on that highway, I didn't care about what my orders were. I just wanted you to be alive and safe…so I brought you here."

Lowering his eyes, Shadow slowly turned to her. Her ears were drooped as well as her wings, and her fists were taut with regret. Wordlessly, he watched her tremble, and felt a pain deep within his own heart. Placing a hand to it, which gradually formed into a fist, he felt the guilt of his actions and suffered as she did. He didn't want to end his life so abruptly, and he did make an attempt to escape, but those voices persuaded him that he had nothing to live for…

Shadow frowned, and turned away from her. He felt like such a fool.

"…I didn't plan to turn you in, but considered extracting a sample from you, instead. You had just gone through so much trauma, I couldn't leave you, so…I called it off. I couldn't let anyone take you away from me…Not even for the best doctors to watch you, not even for the president…and not even for all the jewels in the world…" She paused in her words, risking a look at him, as he did the same.

Meeting her liquidy eyes with the teary ones of his own, Shadow could say nothing and do nothing to comfort her. Instead, he adverted his eyes to the floor, and gripped at his heart. "I'm sorry, Rouge…" was all he muttered, before leaving the painful atmosphere and stepping out into the attacking rain.

Watching him go, Rouge gasped, while trying to hold back a sob, and followed after him. "Shadow! Shadow, wait!"

"I can't stay with you, Rouge!" he shouted back, through the pounding onslaught of the rain.

"What…" she questioned, pausing at the doorway. "What are you…"

"The President won't waste anytime letting this go, Rouge." He called, speaking partially of the truth, but hiding the real reason he wanted to leave. "If he wanted me captured so bad, just because you refused doesn't mean that he would stop there."

Frowning from both the twisting of his heart and from the piercing of the rain nearly tearing through him, Shadow turned slightly to Rouge, trying to avoid seeing the pain on her face. "I'm putting you in danger, Rouge…" he spoke, the truth surfacing in those words, but then he quickly hid them away. "You're at a risk already…I don't need to be there to increase that risk…"

"No…" Rouge said, her voice steady, in direct contrast of the flowing tears that cascaded down her face. "The President, nor his hired grunts can find me here. I've left him with at least 4 false residents to go through before he can find this place. I won't be found that easily."

"I don't know about that…" Shadow muttered, fearing for her safety even more.

Almost unable to hold back a threatening sob, Rouge began to feel the full brunt of her indirect betrayal and forced herself to realize that despite telling him the truth of the matter, it was still his choice to leave and to probably never come back. And in a way, she didn't blame him.

But what Rouge didn't know was that Shadow was very touched by her commitment and dedication to him to even go against direct orders that could render her being executed. If it weren't for the voices in his head, he would have stayed, but that was his reason for leaving, not because of her.

About to cry, Rouge figured that she should give back something that was rightfully his. Ignoring her thin clothing, she stepped out into the rain, getting drenched in the icy liquid that very second, and stood directly behind him. Reaching in her pocket, she hung her head and extended her hand out.

Not knowing what to expect, Shadow looked down at her hand, which she opened to reveal his lost belonging.

"This is…" he trailed off. He then turned to face her and felt his heart sink from her not being able to look at him.

"I held onto it for a while…as a keepsake…hoping you'd come back for it. But, since you're leaving, you'd have a better use for it, than I would. And that way, I won't be expecting you to come back…" Shivering, she lifted her heavy head and met her teary red eyes to his. Before he could say a word, she grabbed his hand and shoved the bracelet in it, then turned to run back inside.

But before she could make it, a hand grabbed her by the arm, and stopped her in her tracks. Saying nothing, she simply stood there with her head down and her eyes shut tight, refusing to face Shadow.

Unable to take much more of their heart-broken suffering, Shadow tugged on her arm gingerly, and stepped closer. "Rouge…" he whispered, almost pleading, to get her to face him. Rouge said nothing, but began to shake as her cries became audible.

"…Rouge…" Shadow softly called again, lifting a hand to her quivering shoulder, and lightly turning her to face him until her head was resting on his chest.

Keeping silent, Shadow focused on calming her down and rubbed her back without conflicting with her wings.

Losing herself in his embrace Rouge clawed at the matted fur on his chest and burrowed her face deeper into his body.

Shadow held her tightly, and gently began to rock her to shush her cries. Without knowing, he nuzzled the top of her head with his lips. "Rouge, forgive me…"

Indulging in his warmth, Rouge allowed one last sob to pass, before lifting her anguished turquoise crystals to meet with his deep carmine opals. But instead of the pain and anger she witnessed before, she beheld a sincere and caring glimmer that pleaded for forgiveness, and offered it, as well.

"…Shad..ow.." she managed to whisper, as her hand reached up to cup his face, and she stopped breathing the moment she felt his hand do the same.

Gazing at her with the most pure and honest emotion glistening in his eyes, Shadow neared closer to her and parted his lips.

A faint sigh escaped Rouge as she closed her eyes and felt her heart skip a beat as Shadow's moist lips brushed her quivering ones.

She was soft as the petals of a flower, and held the same sweetness of the fruit it bore. Shadow had never witnessed such delicious tenderness, and had already become deeply indulged in the depths of her mouth.. Holding her close, Shadow deepened their embrace and savored the nectar of his first kiss. Cooing lightly, Rouge found herself delighting in Shadow's endearing kisses. He didn't rush, and his lips were tender and moist. Excited by the thought of him sharing his first kiss with her, Rouge let a moan slip while devouring his affection one hot delectable taste at a time.

It wasn't long before either of them had forgotten about the rain.

After moments that seemed like hours, Rouge murmured his name, and they slowly released the each other. Gazing into his affectionate eyes once more, Rouge whispered something Shadow wouldn't have heard if he hadn't felt the same way. Smiling lovingly at her, Shadow kissed her sweetly, then returned her endearing words.

Feeling her heart fly higher than the heavens themselves, Rouge shuddered in joy and wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him dearly.

Kissing her forehead, Shadow ran his fingers through her slick locks and encircled an arm around her.

Just as it had rained the day she came to his side when he wanted to end his life, it was raining when they opened their hearts to one another. She had given up the ultimate sacrifice for him, just as he was ready to give up the ultimate sacrifice for her sake…His life.

Sliding his hand to her face, he slipped a finger under her chin and sent his eager lips to rejoin with hers.

By the time they had separated for air, the rain between them had already become warm. Catching her breath, Rouge looked to Shadow, who nodded to her while giving a rare smile. "We should get back inside…"

Giving a smile of her own, she linked arms with him and entwined her fingers with his, and gave his hand a squeeze. "After you."

Shadow nodded, then sent a kiss to her forehead. "Thank you…" he whispered in her ear. Such simple words had a much deeper meaning, and Rouge accepted it. "…And Rouge…"

"I know." Rouge replied as if she could read his mind. "I need to talk to you, too. Don't think you're off the hook that easy." She winked at him, and smiled faintly at him. She still had some questions to ask.

Shadow said nothing for a moment, but gazed at her with dreamy eyes.

Rouge, who was flattered by his enchantment, also became slightly disturbed that she had been out in the rain twice that same day and was FREEZING. With a half-smile, she squeezed his hand. "Shadow, it's cold out here. Have you forgotten that out of the two of us, who have been out in this rain since it started, YOU were the only one who had a chance to warm up in the bathtub?"

Shadow raised an eyebrow at her. "You could have gone before me. You didn't have to wait."

Unable to argue with that, and too drenched to bother, Rouge sighed and tugged him into her place.

-Mel


	3. Now, Get Out!

**A/N: I'm pretty satisfied with this chapter. There were quite a few turn-outs that weren't planned but fit seamlessly.**

**A/N: There's a significance of water throughout this whole story for a reason.**

Shadow and Rouge in…

**Nothing Lasts Forever -Phase 3-** _**"**There is a time for everything: a time to love and a time to hate; a time of war and a time of peace**"- Ecclesiastes 3:8**_

_--_

Once back inside, Rouge shivered and shook some of the rain out of her hair. She glanced to Shadow, who had already begun to slide off his soaked gloves.

Eyeing his motions silently, Rouge could feel the unforgiving emotion she held towards him begin to melt away.

Even though he did try to end his life before, his dedication to her showed which value he honored more.

'…I guess I can forgive him…' she thought to herself with a smile. Then just as quickly as it arrived, her serenity faded and worry played across her features. The fact that Shadow had stayed with her was putting them both in danger. The thought crossed her mind that they should leave Club Rouge and seek refuge someplace far away. But that would only increase their chances of getting caught by the President's wandering henchmen. Her eyes narrowed as she continued to look at him in thought. It would be best for them to lay low at Club Rouge a few days before trying leave to someplace else.

This could also be her last chance for freedom if she ever were to be found by the authorities, and because she couldn't leave her newfound love, she took it upon herself to make the most of her unpromised time.

Noticing her eyes, Shadow slightly turned to her with a rare affectionate expression. "Yes…?"

With a faint smile that hid her wandering thoughts, Rouge lead a hand through her damp locks and gave Shadow a slight nudge on the arm.

"…You know, you're not half bad…"

" 'Not half bad'…?" Shadow repeated, placing his gloves aside and turning to face her. His arms instinctively encircled loosely around her waist and pulled her close. Moments passed as he gazed into her eyes, without saying a word. Not used to so much attention, but certainly enjoying it, Rouge playfully slid her arms around his neck and pressed her nose to his.

"…That's what I said." She spoke in a low and seductive tone "…And it almost seems to me like you want something…"

"Maybe…" Shadow uttered, slightly lowering his eyelids to give her an alluring expression.

Rouge scoffed, then delivered a soft and quick kiss to his unsuspecting lips.

"Mm..." Shadow commented, licking his lips. "That's what I get, huh?"

Rouge said nothing for a moment, but allowed her eyes to thoughtfully mingle with his. Being so close with him made her worries melt away. It had only been minutes since their first kiss, and already they were starting to sound like long lost lovers. The thought nearly crossed her mind that it could be a sign, yet she placed it aside, momentarily and touched her lips to his again.

His taste was rich, and seasoned and was in a far contrast to his tender virgin lips. If she hadn't already known he had kissed her first, she wouldn't have believed that no other woman had already devoured the taste.

She had become so deeply enthralled in the delight, she barely heard the low and faint moan that escaped from him.

Figuring she had better end it now before she ended up with him undressing her in her bedroom or something spontaneous like that, Rouge lightly pressed her fingertips to his chest and slightly nudged him away from her.

A bit confused, but figuring she had a good explanation, Shadow's lips reluctantly left hers and he rested his forehead against hers while lightly catching his breath.

'He's out of breath, already? …Yeah…his first kiss was with me, allright.' Rouge smugly mused to herself.

"…Something wrong…?" he asked, his eyes lightly closed.

"No…nothing's wrong…" Rouge paused as she felt his lips reach the top of her eyelid and shuddered. '…'

"Hey…Shadow…"

"Mm?"

"You've been out in the rain three times already… You should probably take another bath…"

Shadow sighed, sounding a little disappointed. "…But I'm already clean…"

Rouge giggled. He really didn't want to leave her side. 'How cute…' she thought.

"Come on, Shadow. This will be the last time you'll have to get in that tub…"

Hearing those words, Shadow slightly pulled away from her enough to look her in the eyes. Wordlessly, he gave her a look that she read too easily.

Rouge sighed and rolled her eyes. "No, Shadow, I'm not getting in there with you. That tub is big only enough for one."

Shadow glanced to the bathroom, which was ¼ the size of a football field, then shook his head. "No it's--"

"Just get in there, first, okay?" Rouge playfully shot back. "Come on!"

Shadow didn't even have time to argue. Rouge had grabbed him by the arm and pulled him into the bathroom.

"The sooner you get in, the faster you'll be done."

Listening to her words, Shadow said nothing as his mind started to wander. Going back in that bathroom brought back unfavorable memories of the encounter he endured earlier. As much as he despised going back in that place and being completely vulnerable, he knew it was best for him to face his demons first before Rouge ever found out.

He did plan to tell her about the voices in his head and the bittersweet persuasions they burned into his soul, but that time would come later.

Wordlessly, he glanced at her before leading his eyes to the tub—hoping that there would be a later for the both of them.

"Allright, Shadow, strip down and jump in." Rouge said nonchalantly. Giving Shadow a smug grin and a wink, she quickly turned and left for her room before Shadow could respond to her words.

Alone again, Shadow sighed and ran a hand through his quills. He knew that something was on her mind, but he had no idea what. "…What is she up to, now…"

--

"I swear… He's a frisky one, I know it…" Rouge mumbled. In her room, she pushed the door half-closed and quickly loosened her robe. Peeling the thin clothing off of her bare skin, she shuddered at the sudden cold that attacked her and rubbed her arms.

"I'm freezing…!" She forced out through gritted teeth. "Shadow better come out of there fast!"

At that moment, the sound of rushing water floated into her ears, and she paused to listen. "…Finally… He's taking a shower. Good. He should be out of there in no time."

With that said, Rouge allowed another shiver to pass, then went to her closet to pick out a robe made from a towel-like material, but stopped herself. Thinking for a moment, a smile inched her lips and she took out the silkiest robe she had. Slipping it over her slick skin, she tied it loosely, and opened her door.

"Time for me to speed things up a bit…"

--

Casually allowing the warmth of the clear water to dribble across his quills and dapple his fur, Shadow sighed, and tried to keep his mind relaxed. He had to admit, he did feel much more at ease after expressing his feelings to Rouge and eagerly accepting hers. But, deep down, he knew that not only was he the reason of her new joy, but he was also the embodiment of her peril. Him being with her put them both in danger, but also opened a door to their souls that sought to be locked forever. Even if he was never meant or created to fall in love, Shadow would never trade the feelings he shared with Rouge with anything in their world, or the next.

Their bonds were strong, but Shadow knew that even their most enchanting and honest moments of love wouldn't last forever. Part of him felt guilty for allowing things to be led this far, and another part wished this new bliss would last an eternity and never leave him.

"…I…I have to make choice…" he uttered without barely recognizing his own voice. "…A choice that will either strengthen her safety, or hinder it… …Maybe…I shouldn't be here…"

**Traitor…**

**Never meant to be…**

**Give up…**

With his mind becoming clouded with thoughts of his own and that of the dark, Shadow hung his head. His aimless eyes caught a glimpse of the rushing water hurrying quickly down the drain as if it had no other choice. Seeing that made him question his own existence. Was he to follow an inevitable path as the water? A path where it was his purpose to just let things happen and not try to stop them?

"…To blindly follow the path that leads me…" his voice lowered, and assimilated with the sound of the splashing water "Will I be able to test the chains of fate and live my own life the way I see fit…?"

Th**at is…your destiny… **

Hearing the sudden encouraging voice, Shadow perked his ears and nearly choked on his breath. "…Maria…?" Shadow murmured with a cough. Breaking out of his ring of restless and repetitive thoughts, he pushed all else aside and looked around.

The corrupted voices in his head usually carried their acidic taunts in broken phrases, but this time was different.

"Maria… It is you…" he uttered, placing a fist to his chest. "…I know you're here. You've always been here… Always in my heart." He sighed. "…I don't have to keep pretending anymore…"

…**Just believe…**

Shadow was silent for a moment and hung his head. Slowly, his words came to him. "I understand now. If this is truly meant for me, then…let Rouge be happy and safe… no matter what happens to me… That is all that matters to me now…"

There was a soft whisper in the back of his mind in response, before the brief feeling of serenity he felt left him and dissipated into the heavy mist of the water.

"Thank you…" he mouthed. With a sigh, Shadow slightly lifted his head to the spray of the water and suddenly felt the air around him get briskly cold. A curious eyebrow raised, he turned to the curtains to find them being pulled aside by the hand of a certain bat-woman.

Standing next to the tub, she flashed Shadow a sly smile.

"Rouge…" Shadow muttered, barely parting his lips. The thought had actually crossed his mind that she would come to see him in the shower, but he never imagined that she would actually do it. Wordlessly, his eyes wandered from her face and fell on her bare shoulders that peeked out from the lazy attempt at putting on her robe, then traveled a little lower.

Feeling his cheeks grow hot, Shadow casually lifted his eyes back to hers. "What are you doing…?" He questioned in a level tone.

Aware that she was sparking his interests, Rouge allowed a grin to smugly pass before stepping a little closer. "It's not fair…" she replied placidly, getting another raised eyebrow from Shadow. "What's not fair?"

"It's just not fair…" Rouge repeated, slowly pulling on the already loose tie to her robe, undoing it even more. Wordlessly, Shadow's eyes left her face and traveled down to her hands parting the thin material of her robe.

His breath was soon caught in his throat as he watched one slight movement of her hand peel off the veil that hid her voluptuous curves. Shadow could feel the warmth returning to his face as he followed the garment's fluid unravel down the length of her body and curl to the floor in a silken whisper.

Panting lightly from the race of his heart banging against his chest, Shadow's eyes left her robe and snaked onto her ankles, gradually touching and teasing the fullness of her lush and supple curves as he led them upwards.

'…Beautiful…' he thought, his eyes lingering in the nape of her neck before beholding her face. There, he narrowed them. "…You're…gorgeous, Rouge…"

Hearing the serious and sincere tone in his voice brought a pure amazed smile to Rouge's lips. She had been called beautiful, but never gorgeous. And especially not in the way Shadow spoke it.

Feeling a blush rise to her cheeks, she masked her embarrassment by folding her arms behind her head and striking a rather enticing pose that almost got Shadow to choke on his own breath by just looking at her.

A bit nervous, yet content with her brazen act, Rouge allowed a casual smile to play across her lips as she let Shadow's eyes consume a bit more of her before unraveling her wings to their fullest and draping them over her body.

Shadow had a better chance at catching his breath after her treasures were concealed and lightly curled his hands into fists, out of habit.

There was a flicker of hunger in his eyes, and Rouge couldn't help but chuckle to herself about how captivated Shadow was. Yet, she was just as amazed as she was amused.

"…Hmm what happened?" she mused with an alluring curve to her words. " It got so quiet all of a sudden…"

When Shadow didn't answer, she smoothly lifted a leg into the tub and placed her fingers on Shadow's chest. At a loss for words, Shadow eyed her with a seductive expression as she lightly pushed him slightly further into the shower as she stepped in.

"And as I said before," she paused, giving him a playful, yet alluring look, "…you've bathed twice since being in the rain, and I haven't even been in the shower once. It isn't fair…"

"…So…?" he muttered, not taking his eyes off her.

"You were taking too long. I got tired of waiting…" she confessed with a seductive smirk and stepped closer to him, so that they were both in the direct sprinkle of the water.

Her playfulness got Shadow's mind to wander, as well as his eyes.

Even though her wings covered most of her body, the fluid cascading of the steamy water splashing across her bare shoulders and running down her neck was more than enough for his eyes and he unconsciously licked his lips.

Catching his interest, Rouge licked her lips as well and stepped closer to him, ruffling her wings. "Looks like you liked what you saw…"

Shadow felt his breath grow short as Rouge's slick body inched closer to his. "…I did…"

With a light smile, Rouge lifted her arms and seamlessly unfolded her wings to present her curves to the steamy water, as well as Shadow's eager eyes.

But just as quickly as they were revealed, her succulent curves quickly disappeared into the protection of her wings. Yet, a few slicked places still tauntingly peeked out at him. Parting his lips to speak, the bewildered hedgehog found himself at a loss for words, as his eyes seemed trapped between her sleek shoulders and her moistened lips.

Soon feeling guilty that he had been staring at her more than doing anything else, Shadow began to force himself to turn slightly away from her, when a slender hand raked through the fur on his chest. He shuddered from the sudden shock of sensitivity that shot through him and a low moan tumbled from his lips as he turned to face her.

He knew that she knew exactly what she was doing and knew exactly how to get him.

He became hers at that moment and there was no turning back.

"...Rouge…" he panted lowly, feeling his body quiver from the warmth he felt from both the steam of the shower and from the depths of a newly discovered emotion.

A maelstrom of thoughts flooded his mind, as his heart pounded wildly in his ears.

"What do you want from me?"

Rouge's smile faded as she took in his words.

She had merely gotten in the shower just to tease him, but she figured that she'd end her little game quick before things got out of hand.

A light smile curved her lips as she gently combed her fingers through his white tuft of fur and leaned in close enough to be able to lick the water off his face. Instead, she placed her soft lips to his cheek, and then born from that kiss was a flurry of them to his nose, and then his lips. A faint sound was Shadow's response, but before he could make a move to embrace her, Rouge slightly tugged on his fur and whispered in his ear. "I want you…to get out."

Shadow had to catch himself from losing his balance. "You what…."

Rouge giggled and playfully turned him around. "You heard me, now get out! A girl's gotta have her privacy!"

Reluctantly stepping out of the shower, Shadow half-frowned and glanced back at her. "…Tease…"

Rouge raised an eyebrow at his comment, then gave him a seductive look. "Hm. What can I say? It's a gift."

"Hmph."

Rouge laughed and curled a lock of drenched hair around her finger. "…Why don't you dry off and get comfortable? Go in any room you like, but don't leave this building, got it? That is, unless you want a cold shower from the rain."

Smirking faintly, Shadow crossed his arms and turned around. "Hmph. You just had to throw that in, didn't you?"

"Mmmhmm. Oh, and Shadow?"

"Hm?" he wondered, slightly turning to face her. With a giggle, she brought her slender fingers to her lips and blew him a kiss with a wink before closing the curtains behind her. "Wait for me. I'll join you later… So don't fall asleep."

Shadow's ears twitched at her words as he raised a high eyebrow.

Wordless, he stood motionless for a moment, just staring at her silhouette behind the curtains. Not knowing what to think, he shook his head, then grabbed a nearby towel to dry himself off with.

Glancing at the curtains again, a thought passed his mind and he snatched up the towel that she would need to use once she got out of the shower and dropped it in a nearby hamper on his way out the room.

Closing the door behind him, he sighed heavily, then began to make his way to the couch to rest. He frowned when he noticed how wet with rain water it was.

'Rouge must have carried me here first when she arrived….' he thought. Turning away from it, he found himself left with the only place left to go…Rouge's bedroom.

A thin smirk inched his lips from the thought of Rouge setting him up to go in her room passed through his mind.

With a sigh, he ran a hand through his quills and shook his head. "What am I going to do with you…?" he smiled.

Then, without much choice, Shadow nonchalantly made his way to Rouge's room.

Gasp! It's only 5 pages long! What a far cry from 20. Oh well. This chapter was going to be longer, but I decided to split it because there would be a lot of important information sprinkled throughout, and I didn't want any of it to be quickly forgotten or overlooked.

There is also a very big chance of a lot more romance and anguish between these two in the next chapter, and I'm stuck between being very descriptive or being mild and tame about it. …I think it's obvious of what I'm referring to.

Comments would be appreciated.

-Mel


	4. With You

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN THESE CHARATERS. But the dark voices of Shadow's past I made up, but there is a chance of them appearing in later games by pure coincidence. So Sega or Sonic Team, if you ever read these stories, then please don't sue me, but please consider hiring me instead! **

**A/N: The story's rating has changed to 'mature readers only'.**

**A/N: There is brief mentioning and attempt at rape, but it is not very graphic.**

**A/N: This chapter's pretty serious, so it may not be for the easily mortified/offended**.

**A/N: To me, there is no lemon in this chapter, but a pure and honest sharing of two hearts becoming as one. And it is very descriptive. So watch out!**

**A/N: Also, a note to all the men that read this, …please be careful --**

**A/N: This chapter has also been revised. I was unsatisfied with how it turned out before, so I made it better…**

Shadow and Rouge in…

**Nothing Lasts Forever: Part 4**

"_**The courage to pursue your love will change even Fate."-**Savan, Legend of Dragoon_

--

Once at her door, he hesitantly creaked it open, then curiously stepped in.

Looking around, he found himself awe and captivated by how exquisite her room was.

Shades of red, light pinks and purples were splashed on ever wall and the ceiling. The floor was a tiled shade of purple and white with a lavish red carpet with gold tassels that led from the door to her equally exquisite canopy bed.

Shadow soon found himself with his mouth open. "This is amazing…" he uttered, taking hesitant steps closer to the bed. Upon reaching it, he slid the thin curtains aside and peeked in. The sheets were pink and peeked out from beneath a lush comforter that was a divine and lush shade of red.

Silent, Shadow stared at the bed for a moment with narrowed eyes. A faint smirk brushed his lips as he shook his head, then reached down to touch the sheets. Never feeling something so soft in his life, the next thing Shadow knew, he was face down in the sheets and snuggling into them.

"It's so…soft…" he murmured, then lifted his face the moment he felt the bed ripple. Alarmed, he quickly sat up and remained perfectly still as the bed moved again.

"What is that…!" he wondered, touching the bed and sinking his fingers into it.

"Feels good, doesn't?"

Shadow had to catch himself from falling to the floor, but fell back into the sheets instead. Clenching them lightly, while being jostled by the waves of the bed, he looked to the doorway with a raised eyebrow and a tight-lipped frown. "And just how long have you been there?"

Rouge flashed him an alluring smile and adjusted her silk robe. "Long enough to see you get eagerly 'acquainted' with my bed!" she chuckled mischievously, "Careful Shadow, or you'll make me jealous…"

"Jealous?" Shadow questioned, clearly confused. Not liking to be left in the dark, he quickly changed the subject and pointed to the bed. " Just what kind of bed is this anyway?"

Rouge laughed, while tugging on a lock of damp hair. "It's a water bed."

"Huh? Water bed? There's water inside?"

She chuckled seductively and nodded. "That's right. Romantic isn't it…?" she mused, scrunching her nose at the cliché sounding of her words.

Shadow raised an eyebrow at this, and gave the bed a few pokes with his thumb. "It's…interesting…"

Rouge snickered, quite amused by the way he poked the bed. "…Well I guess it is with the way you're poking the bed like that! Sure you're not practicing for something…?"

Shadow's lips curled into a half-frown in pure confusion as he stared at her. "…You lost me…"

With a light laugh, Rouge shook her head, and closed her door. "I figured that…" she smiled, walking elegantly over to him.

Shadow's eyes traveled over her as she came closer to him. Her body was slick with fresh remnants of the shower, so that the loose robe she wore clung to her curves in all the right places.

Noticing he was staring again, Shadow lifted his eyes to hers, only to witness her standing directly in front of him.

"…Rouge…" he managed to mutter as she placed a hand to his face.

"Hmmm?" she purred, eagerly taking in his captivated expression and nearing her face closer to his. "What is it Shadow…?"

Wordless, Shadow looked to her through half-lidded eyes. "…You're teasing me again…aren't you?"

With a grin Rouge chuckled and pulled away. "Honestly, Shadow, must you take the fun out of being a tease?"

"Must you be a tease?" he retaliated with a taunting smirk.

"What?" Rouge exclaimed, shocked such a blunt remark would come from his mouth. "Oh I get it…" she smirked, letting a chuckle float from her as she sat next to him on the bed.

Shadow was sure to keep his balance this time as the waves and ripples of her bed passed under him.

Noticing that he still wasn't used to the type of bed it was yet, Rouge playfully giggled at his reaction.

Not understanding how what he did ended up being so amusing to her, Shadow tore his eyes away from the waves of the bed and glared at her. "What's so funny…?"

"Oh knock it off Shadow! Stop acting so tough all the time. You don't have to hide so from me!" she cried, playfully pushing him and he quickly caught his balance.

But only in response to the lyrical amusement in her voice, did he smile. Once the realization of her words hit him, his smile quickly disappeared and he looked down. "Perhaps not….everything, Rouge..."

She blinked, bewildered. "Huh? What do you mean by that Shadow?" she wondered, leaning closer to him.

Secretly admiring her consistency in caring about him and his well-being without ever being asked to, Shadow faced her with a slightly appeased smile before he spoke his words.

And the moment he took a pause before responding to her question, Rouge knew something was very wrong, and deep down, she felt it had a lot to do with his strange behavior lately. Her eyes thinly narrowed, but she said nothing and let him talk.

Taking a deep breath, Shadow lightly placed his hand atop hers on the bed and gave it a squeeze.

"Rouge…there's something I feel I should tell you…"

Rouge glanced down at his hand, then returned her eyes to his lips and waited. "…"

Disturbed by the uneasy atmosphere, Shadow sighed and closed his eyes as he continued. "…But first…I have to apologize to you for all that I have been recently putting you through. I know I haven't been acting quite like myself lately, and there is a reason for that in which I will tell you…But I've been keeping if from you because…you are the only reason I still remain in this world…"

A jolt of realization coursed through Rouge at his words as the graphic and heart-wrenching sight of finding him battered and cut on that highway as if he wanted to willingly end his own life and leave her behind flashed through her mind. The sorrow and heartbreak that moment caused was still a fresh wound within her being and the pain and betrayal she felt then began to rise within her yet again, but she pushed it back down.

However, her battling emotions caused her to not have any realization of the small tear that had formed in the corner of her eye.

All of this was unknown to Shadow, and that was probably how it was meant to be.

Forcefully, he continued on and gave her hand another squeeze, his eyes still closed.

"…And because you are the sole reason that keeps me here…and sane…I have no idea what will happen if what I'm about to tell you will cause you to hate me for the rest of my life…"

He paused, feeling the wretched tangle of darkness begin to bubble up inside of him.

**Traiiitooorr….**

**Do not save herrr…**

**Keep your Promise**

**Remove herr…!**

'No…!' he inwardly spat back at them as he fought to force their hissed messages back down. There was one that spoke the truth, but he was too focused on stopping those voices from resurfacing, that he didn't fully notice it. 'Leave Rouge out of this!'

His words were met with an warped and animalistic howl from deep within his being, then gradually the voices and the sounds began to subside. Only a faint cackle lingered, but that too followed the same of the ones before it.

Thinking he had bested them for now, Shadow scoffed and turned his attention to Rouge to check on her.

Only one side of her face looked back at him, as her attention lead downward to the floor.

She felt guilty for something but why? What was it?

Confused and wanting to help, Shadow reached out a finger to stroke her cheek with, but the moment he did, his hand sharply recoiled and a painful groan escaped him.

'Wh-what's happening…to me…!' he cried in his mind, nearly becoming overwhelmed by the presence that sought to consume him.

Said to leave her out of it… 

**But if she is willing….**

**Would not be against her will….**

Panic ran through what was left of him as he realized what was happening. The souls and spirits that lingered and drifted inside of him did what they could to keep his little secret about them under wraps and especially not being told to Rouge. Swiftly, they grabbed his spirit and dragged him down within the depths of his own emotionally-torn body as they themselves took over his position as the main host.

His muffled cries were completely unheard by anything now.

And Shadow was once again locked away in a void of dark nothingness…

Feeling him react so quickly as if something were wrong, Rouge quickly turned her attention to him. "Shadow what—" But her words were cut short by moist and hot lips pressing firmly and hungrily against hers.

A few sounds were all she could muffle as she tried to take in everything that was happening. What had gotten into Shadow all of a sudden?

"Mmph! Vadow!" she called, he lips still mostly claimed by the hedgehog's. Finally, seconds later, the kiss was broken and once Rouge regained her sight and state of mind, a small gasp escaped her as the male that looked back at her wore a devilishly mischievous grin she never thought she would ever see from him.

In fact, she couldn't tell if she should accept that grin or be terrified of it.

Squinting, she inched away from him slightly as she tried to identify what had gotten into him for him to act so—recklessly. But deep down, she admitted to herself that the take-charge attitude was a bit of a turn on.

Catching her breath, she tried asking again. "Shadow…what..what are you thinking! What happened to you?"

A dark chuckle drifted from his throat and he moved closer to her, his composure transiting into a more calm and compassionate look.

"I'm sorry Rouge…" he said in a tone that was hiding something, but a calm and alluring smile hid any hints of peril and deceit. And Rouge almost caught that lie.

She knew something was wrong and amiss, but, not wanting to leap head first into conclusions, she decided she'd test the situation a little.

"You're sorry huh? Allright, I guess I can let you off with that. And no stalling this time, what was it that you wanted to tell me Shadow?"

The hedgehog flinched at the name and looked away for a moment before returning his eyes to her. "…"

Rouge narrowed her eyes. 'He's taking too long to think about it…Shadow is that really you…?' Figuring she'd keep trying to clarify some answers, she neared closer to him and took his hand in hers. "Shadow…"

He blankly eyed her.

"Tell me…what is it that's bothering you…?"

Not knowing how to respond, he turned away from her yet again, and sighed. "Rouge.." he spoke softly "..I know you must think I'm acting strangely…even more than usual, but the truth is I…I'm just afraid I'd lose you…" he continued, lightly squeezing her hand and looking her in the eyes.

Taken aback by the words and gesture, Rouge winced, then looked deep into his eyes.

Realizing that she was prying the hedgehog inched himself even closer to her to advert her eyes away from his and placed their hands between the two of them on the bed. "I just know that if anything happened between us, like the President sending a search party after us, that we may end up separated…and if that happened especially from it being my fault, I couldn't live with myself…knowing that I'm guilty and responsible for something like that…"

Not knowing how to respond Rouge simply stared at him, then shook her head. "Shadow…you've got to understand that even if the President finds us, he's going to have to go through me in order to get to you… I'm not letting you slip through my fingers that easily…"

From this comment, the hedgehog smirked. Perhaps Rouge's answer would be making things a bit too easy?

Leaving it at that, he slightly turned away from her, then when she curiously leaned closer to find out why he kept doing that, to Rouge's surprise, a light hand cupped her cheek and just as quickly, she was pulled into another searing kiss.

She had no idea Shadow had so much passion inside of him, while another part of her still told her something was wrong.

Unsure of the situation, she placed her fingertips to his chest to lightly push him away, but her attempts were stopped cold when his hand entwined his fingers with hers and the kiss deepened.

'This is beginning to be too much…' she thought, slowly surrendering into his motions. 'I never knew Shadow had a side to him like this… at first he was so gentle and unsure but now….' Rouge's thoughts were quickly interrupted as the slick sensation of his warm tongue locating hers shut off all wandering thoughts and she eagerly responded to the action.

'…Uhn…Shadow….'

'Ro…uge…! Rou..ge..!' Shadow gasped, pinned against the void within his own being. Those dark spirits held him captive there for trying to go against them and he had to struggle to regain his consciousness. But once he did, he knew immediately what had taken place and 'stood' to his 'feet'

Vulgarly, he cursed the dark spirits for doing this to him as he frantically wondered what was happening to Rouge. The instant the thought passed through him, a projection of what was happening outside of his body's eyes revealed itself to him---and the horror that struck him was nothing short of unspeakable…

Rouge had been laid on her back on the bed and the tops of her silken robe that hung around her shoulders were slightly slipping down the curves of her arm from her position.

She gave an uncomfortable expression from being laid on her wings and slightly sat up to straighten them out before thick and dark hands were placed on her shoulders and eagerly laid her back down.

A distinctive uneasiness flowed through Shadow as these images were plastered around him, surrounding him.

Those spirits who were using his body…they were planning on raping Rouge…

_**But if she is willing….**_

_**Would not be against her will….**_

Shadow's existence wavered as the hissed words from the darkness burned itself back into his memory. It all made sense to him now.

Those spirits emerged and took over his body while he was in the midst of telling her about them, they pain they caused and the lies they spread. If he had told Rouge, they could have done one of two things: kill her, or be killed themselves from being known about by anyone other than Shadow himself. But taking over his body the way they did and posing as him to seduce Rouge was only another gimmick to take her out of the picture while her guard was down.

It almost seemed that either way, Rouge was a vital key that either needed to be taken away from him or kept close to his heart. Without her being in the picture in the first place, he probably would have never came back to such a wretched and hateful planet. Nor would he have been able to control the voices and spirits in his being as much as he did and actually have the chance to think for himself and seek whatever he willed to seek.

Rouge helped him obtain that gift of free-will and helped break him away from his own set up limitations.

She was the key to everything he held dear. And only she had the ability to either close the door she opened or step in it all the way.

Whatever choice she made, Shadow wouldn't stand for the possibility of her being taken away from him right before his eyes.

'ROUGE!' he called, but his words were swiftly swallowed by the void as quickly as he spoke. But that didn't stop him from continuing to scream his empty and unheard cries as he tried everything he could to release the darkness's grip on his body and release Rouge from her 'captivity'.

'ROUGE!'

Rouge jumped at the sudden chill she received and looked up to the black hedgehog before her with curious and wandering eyes.

Something about all this really did not feel right.

"Shadow…Shadow stop…"

Being stopped for the second time this night by this bat-woman, a frown curled his lips and he stared at her, but avoiding direct eye contact. "What's wrong now…."

She shook her head, overlooking the tone in his voice and sighed. "Just…something doesn't feel right. I think we should try this some other time…" She bit her lip, expecting to risk catching a look of deep disappointment and almost rejection in his eyes, but to her surprise a smug smirk played across his lips instead and he chuckled.

But it sounded nothing like the ones she'd heard from him before. Just what was going on with him?

"Sh…Shadow…?"

Instead of answering her right away, he chuckled again and grabbed her wrists and pinned her to the bed with his legs on either side of her.

Alarmed and also extremely uncomfortable with laying directly on her wings, Rouge yelped and fought with him, trying to free her hands. "What the---What has gotten into---!"

Then the answer hit her the second she caught glimpse of his eyes--those clouded, vengeful eyes. Shadow would never look at her like that.

"You're…you're not Shadow!" she cried.

The second Shadow heard her words, a bright light encircled around him and his surroundings and not letting a second delay pass, he raced towards the light and grabbed a hold of it as best as he could.

'Rouge, I'm on m way…!'

With the hedgehog's identity farce disrupted, his hands left her wrists and curled tightly around her neck, attempting to strangle her.

Gasping and choking for air, Rouge tried all she could to pry his vice grip away from her and squirmed under the force.

'Shadow!' she cried in her mind, unable to think much of anything else, but all of a sudden, the force surrounding her neck loosened and she wheezed to catch her breath.

Unknown to her, the reason why this happened was because of Shadow's consciousness returning, but he hadn't completely settled.

Once free to fully breathe, Rouge, she kicked Shadow off of her with one lightning fast movement and lunged at him--tackling him to the floor. One of her hands encircled tautly around his neck as the other hand readied itself to strike.

Finally back as the main host and in full control of his body yet again, Shadow warped out of harm's way and reappeared directly behind Rouge.

He didn't know everything that had just happened within those few seconds, but his hands shook with guilt and fury and he clenched them into fists.

There was silence…then…

"Rouge…please stop…" he pleaded, a deep and heavy remorse coating his sincere words.

Rouge nearly twisted her body to turn to him, but the will to fight drained from her the moment she identified the rich tone in his voice. Had Shadow come back?

"…Shadow…?" she croaked, stepping backwards and rubbing her neck.

A slight shuddering motion was all his body gave as an answer, before, he hung his head and slowly turned to face her. For a moment, he said nothing and thought nothing, but simply stared at her—and he could barely do that.

He had finally made it back to her, and if it wasn't for her reaching out to him, he never would have made it. He owed her his life, and more than that: his dedication.

And both of those things he had absolutely no difficulty in sharing with or devoting entirely to her.

But what had just happened the moment before he returned to his body still bothered him and even though he had no recollection of exactly what went on, the exasperated and horrified look on her face told him everything he needed to know—and he begun to hate himself for it.

"…Answer me…." She demanded flatly.

A thin film of a liquid glistened on the surface of his eyes as he nodded. "Yes Rouge…it's me…" he voiced softly.

He actually was even ashamed to show his face to her, but at this moment, with being only a mere few inches away from her, his body acted on its own and gently pulled her into his arms and he hugged her dearly.

Her body reacted to the motion at first and she tensed up, but slowly it dissipated and she relaxed. She knew it was him.

"Rouge…Rouge, I am so sorry…that this had to happen…I don't deserve to be forgiven for this…"

A light gasp of shock tumbled from betwixt her lips, but she said nothing as her arms tenderly encircled beneath the row of quills around his waist and pulled him closer to her.

Shuddering, Shadow returned her embrace and lightly kissed her shoulder. Trying to control his tears from emerging, he tightly shut his eyes and took long shallow breaths. "…I…I wanted to tell you …I was going to tell you…but, I also wanted to keep it from you for as long…as I could, but after what happened tonight, I just can't stop thinking of what could have happened to you ….!…. Rouge I…there is something gravely wrong with me….!" He continued, his words becoming slightly slurred from the sadness they held and the frequent shaking of his body. All of this was tearing him apart.

Rouge quietly rubbed his back to calm his frequent shuddering fits. She knew he would eventually be driven to a breakdown if this kept up. She appreciated the fact he wanted to tell her so badly what was bothering him, but at this rate, it would be better if he just relaxed for the night. When he tried to tell her before…well, she didn't want to remember the events that previously took place and forcefully pushed them behind her.

"Shadow…" she called gingerly, delicately pulling away from him only just enough to look at his face. Forlorn and sorrowful opals looked back at her.

Confused, the whisper of her name was all that passed his lips as Rouge laced a curled finger beneath his chin and brushed his lips with hers.

'Please calm down Shadow…' she prayed in her mind, hoping for the best.

One kiss was all it took.

A faint sound of relief drifted from him as the withheld repentance that had taken shelter within him began to meticulously melt away.

That Rouge was really something else and inwardly, he thanked her for being just that.

Now feeling adequate beyond what he thought he could ever feel in a situation such as this one, Shadow discreetly pressed his lips to Rouge's and let his ungloved hands lightly ease up her back as his fingers outlined the curve of her shoulder blades through her thin robe.

.Her wings twitched from his fingers being so close to them, then slowly spread open. And with a light flap to completely unravel them, Rouge allowed them to circle around the both of them and to press him closer to her.

Curious to what she was doing, Shadow lightly broke the kiss and glanced upwards while Rouge ran her hands up his chest and curved them around his neck.

Confused, but certainly not complaining, a faint smile touched his lips. "Rouge..?"

"Shhh…." She smiled with allure dancing in her bountiful eyes. "Just relax…and enjoy…" she teased, kissing him sweetly and briefly.

Shadow chuckled faintly and kissed her back, pretending to sound naive."…Huh…? Enjoy…?" he smirked, meeting his lips to hers yet again. "What are you going to do to me…" he paused to kiss the tip of her nose, "…Rouge…?"

He was really trying his best to put the previous events behind him also and to move on and Rouge admired that.

She smirked at his question and thought for a moment. "I'll have to get back to you on that, but I don't think you'll complain much."

"Hmph" he smirked and went to kiss her again, but there he stopped himself.

."…Shadow?"

He said nothing for a moment, then shook his head. "Sorry. I guess I'm just trying too hard."

She sighed and half-frowned. 'What is it this time Shadow…?' she groused in her mind, but listened to what he had to say.

Acknowledging that she was listening, he continued. " One problem may have been temporarily taken care of, but there's still the president and G.U.N of whom we still have to look out for. …We may not be able to stay together Rouge." he spoke softly, " We have to consider the risks and consequences of what may happen to us…"

"Stop right there…" she said, placing a finger to his lips, briefly shushing him. "I'm tired of going back to this, Shadow. Whether the president finds us or not, I'm not going to let any opportunity offered to me or us just slip through my fingers. "

"But Rouge—"

"But nothing, Shadow! Yes, we have to consider the risks and we already have, but we also have to take into account that the two of us can no longer just go our separate ways whenever we feel like it anymore. Unless, that's what you want. If you do, then we are no longer a couple or anything associated within the context of being a couple. Once you leave out that front door without me, thinking or believing you're going to handle what's coming for the both of us, alone, then that's it." She stated firmly, beginning to unravel her wings from around him "I don't know if you were here to hear me say this or not, but the president and G.U.N will have to go through me first before they can lay a finger on you… and I mean that."

"Rouge…" he murmured, touched and honored by her answer, but even though her decision was very noble, he wouldn't be able to live with himself if she did put herself in the position to take the full brunt of an attack meant for him.

Inwardly he apologized to her. Knowing she was at risk along with himself, he knew he could not stay with her while this was going on… Perhaps after the tension died down, they could be together and stay that way without having to live in fear of capture.

Maybe, only maybe could they have a life to call their own for as long as they wanted.

But for right now, he was going to indulge in the few hours they had left to one another before daybreak.

He sighed and lightly hugged her. "You're right." He agreed. 'But I still can't leave all of this on you to deal with…' he thought.

Rouge was keen to his way of thinking though and knew even after he took what she said into account, he still would go out and do his own thing to protect the both of them, but she spoke nothing of it.

"Good. Now, tonight you're keeping me company. It can get rather cold in here sometimes." She said, slipping out of their embraces and taking his hand.

He glanced down at their hands for a moment, then returned his eyes to her and raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean it gets cold in here? You have over 5 layers of sheets on your bed."

"Yes, but these are made of the highest quality material of silk and satin and neither of those get very warm, but they look and feel gorgeous…" she smiled, leading him over to the bed.

Shadow knew where this was going. She was going to make sure he didn't sneak out as soon as she fell asleep. She was really persistent!

He chuckled at the thought of her holding him tightly in her arms or having her legs around his waist in a scissor hold so he couldn't get away.

Little did he know what she had in mind to keep him there…

Hesitantly, Rouge folded a couple layers of the sheets back and climbed in the bed, taking both his hands and leading him to follow suit.

Her heart began to pound in her chest from the courage she obtained to be able to be the one to make the first moves. Rather it be hard to believe or not, she had never been in a situation like this before, but she knew what she wanted.

Shadow, on the other hand, thought she was going to lure him into bed and find some way to keep him from leaving at all—an almost innocent way of thinking.

But he had a little secret of his own…and never thought the day would arrive when it needed to be mentioned.

"Stay close to me" Rouge uttered softly, getting comfortable beneath the covers, keeping her eyes on him.

With a light smile Shadow nodded and did as she said, placing the sheets over himself.

Although his features expressed a slight frown of uneasiness once several waves from the bed rolled beneath him.

Rouge smiled warmly at his behavior and giggled. "What's wrong Shadow…? " she playfully asked.

"I still can't understand why you chose to buy a bed with water in it….It feels so…unstable…"

"Who said I bought it? And don't worry Shadow, I'm sure you'll get used to it."

"That's probably another reason why it gets so cold in here to you. All this water and no way to heat it up…"

"Well, there is one way, Shadow…" she led on, inwardly biting her lip.

"And what way is that? Any devices you hook up to it will probably result in it popping or possibly even exploding—"

"I'm not talking about devices Shadow."

Confused and curious he gave her an odd expression. "Then what are you talking about Rouge?"

Silence.

"Shadow…are you telling me you don't know what I'm getting at…?"

"What? "

She sighed placed her hands lightly on his chest and tugged at the ivory fur, knowing it to be a sensitive spot.

He instantly got the picture. "…Oh… So that's what you… Are you sure…?"

She half-smiled. "Shadow I wouldn't have had you get in bed with me if I wasn't sure!" she laughed a little, "What did you THINK I was pulling you in here for? To keep you locked in a scissor hold and not let you go anywhere?"

"………………..yes… "

"…….Oh Shadow! You're being too naïve! Haha!"

"And now you're laughing at me…." he frowned.

"Oh hey come on, don't take it the wrong way Shadow, I didn't mean any harm. But wow, I never expected you to think that way…and only that way about this…But now that I do know, that actually makes me feel a bit more comfortable."

He blinked. "More comfortable…? My humility makes you feel more comfortable?"

"Nonono, Shadow, listen to what I'm saying. And actually, this is a bit embarrassing for me to mention but, I've never gotten in bed with another male."

He raised an eyebrow.

"Don't give me that look, I'm serious. I've never…given myself to any guy before. You would be the first…if you were willing to accept me…."

"Be willing to accept you…? Rouge I already accept you."

"That's not what I mean… I mean…nevermind…" she groaned. "I guess I'm just confusing you even more… You can goto sleep now…"

"Wait, Rouge…" he persuaded, lightly touching her shoulder and brushing a finger across her cheek. "I apologize. This seems very important to you for you to even bring it up to me, so, I accept. And to tell you the truth, I haven't gotten this close to a woman except you, Rouge. And honestly, I really have little idea of what I'm supposed to exactly do..except make you happy… And I need pointers on how to do that…"

A warm feeling began to rise in Rouge as she listened. He really was new at this, probably more than she was, but he had the right ideas.

"Oh Shadow…" she smiled, lacing an arm around him to give him a hug. "I'm glad you're being so honest with me… And I can appreciate that. "

He eagerly hugged her back. "I know. I know Rouge."

Nothing lasts forever… 

Shadow paused for a moment. That voice. It sounded sincere and almost angelic.

But be true to who you are, Shadow… 

'Maria…' he thought, closing his eyes.

Knowing something was on his mind again, but wanted to share their last moments together in peace and to themselves, Rouge touched one of his eyelids and traced an invisible curve to the side of his face and there she added the feathery tactility of her delicate fingertips and kissed him.

"Please don't hold back Shadow…we need each other now…There's no guarantee for how long this will last.."

The last 4 words she spoke triggered a lingering emotion in Shadow and he hugged her close to him, lightly sending kisses from her lips, to her cheeks and to her collarbone.

"Shadow…" she whispered, slowly allowing her body to full relax to give him access to its entirety. "Please…"

Understanding what she meant, and willing to do the best that he could, Shadow gingerly ran his hands up her arm and led it down to the silken curve of her waist through her robe and hesitantly rubbed her thigh.

His mind soon became littered with thoughts and insecure fears as he touched her—thinking he may have started off too quickly or eagerly or if he offended her in some way.

But before he moved his hand away from her skin, Rouge's laid atop his and she gently guided his hand back down to her thigh and led it across her backside before slipping it under her leg.

Still a bit unsure of what to do, but seemed to be catching on as they went along, Shadow trailed his hand back upto her bottom and gave it a squeeze before lightly lifting her leg across his waist and pressing his hips against her.

Rouge giggled faintly. He was getting the hang of this rather quickly! And she didn't expect anything less from him. "You're doing good Shadow…" she encouraged, brushing her lips across the red crest on his forehead. "Keep going…" she whispered.

Noticing her tone already becoming breathless, Shadow glanced upto Rouge as he caught glimpse of her hand carefully reaching down to fumble with the tie in her robe. But before she could loosen it, Shadow suddenly stopped her. Smirking, he lightly moved her hand away and did the honor himself.

The moment her ethereal garment was undone, his hand curiously smoothed over her shoulder once, then again, but this time revealing her bare shoulder. Eager to continue, he took a breath and peeled away another part of it. He stopped breathing for a good moment when one of her supple breasts peeked out at him.

Watching him pause, Rouge grinned and tenderly drew her fingers across his face to the back of his head, lightly nudging him forward to give him the idea of what to do next.

A mere second that felt like minutes passed as Shadow prepared himself for the point of no return. Softly and with great hesitance, Shadow nuzzled his nose against her nipple.

A faint gasp rose from Rouge, but she didn't say a word.

Assuming her action to be a positive response, as well as receiving another nudge from her, he lifted his mouth to it and curiously teased the tip with his tongue. He had no idea he was actually teasing her, but as long as she continued to encourage him on, he did just that until she told him otherwise.

"Haaah..Shadow. That's it…keep going, please. Give me more…" she breathed, pressing his head closer to her as he began to suckle.

Believing that she was enjoying it, every so often he would glance up at her to check her expression to make sure he was doing allright. And from the distant and yearning look on her face, he figured he was doing better than he thought.

Soon desiring to try something a little different, he slid his other hand beneath her side and carefully rolled onto his back, taking her with him until she was on top of him.

This way he had better freedom to do as he pleased. He was also thankful that most of Rouge's bed was covered with plenty of cushioning, or else his quills could have popped the bed. But he quickly placed that thought aside when he felt Rouge move slightly downward. Taking a pause from his previous feast, he looked up to see her place a finger to his lips, then trail it down his chest, his stomach and rested it just slightly below where his navel would be.

He kept silent as he watched her with curious eyes. With a lick of her lips, she gave him an alluring smile and allowed her finger to continue traveling downward.

A faint sound of exuberance left his lips while his hips lightly rose off the bed, then returned. "…Rouge…" he murmured, a little embarrassed and a little surprised.

Still smiling, but now wearing a more sly one, Rouge continued to let her fingers mingle with him until she saw the honest expression of clearly wanting more cross his features.

'Wow…' she thought with a light smile 'He really wants to go through with this.' By her next thought, she inwardly chuckled. 'He looks so cute like this… I just hope I'm able to do this right…' she added to herself while lightly biting her lip. Once her confidence was gathered, she traced light circles from the base of his blooming erection to the very tip with her thumb, then slowly began to stroke him.

She started extremely slowly—gliding her hand up to the top and swirling her thumb around it before bringing her hand back down. She lightly drew her fingertips across the inside of his thigh with her other hand and discreetly lead it slightly lower to softly cup his spherical curves. And there she delicately tugged on them and passed her thumb over the smoothness while rotating her hand both clockwise and counter clockwise on his length while continuing to guide it up and down.

Shadow moaned deeply at the new sensation and his hips rose to meet her rythmn.

Rouge paused for a second to dare a glance up at him to see if she had accidentally pulled on him the wrong way or not, but felt her nervousness start to fade as her eyes beheld the craved and appeased look on his face.

And not to her surprise, Shadow could barely take it--the taunting, the teasing. Having experiencing so much at once was both an immediate breakthrough and new experience for him. And he was enjoying every passing second of it. But little did he know, that Rouge's actions were only the tip of the ice-burg.

Nearly completely immersed in intimate and overwhelming pleasure, Shadow had his head turned to one side, but still managed to watch her with both hands balled into fists, clenching the sheets. "Rouge…" he barely whispered, "…go faster…faster…" he almost pleaded. "…Rouge…."

'Wow, I must be doing something right…!' Rouge mused to herself in her mind. With a small grin from feeling the authority of being in control and being able to please him like she wanted, Rouge did as he wished at a gradual pace. She chuckled inwardly to herself, knowing he had no idea for what she was going to do next.

His mind soon became hazy from most of the blood leaving his head and going elsewhere. A low and raspy moan drifted from his lips as his eye-lids lowered halfway, then slowly shut. He never imagined that she would ever want to do such a thing. He never even thought about it.

But suddenly Rouge stopped.

It took him a full second to lazily opening his eyes. The moment he did, he trailed them down to her just in time to see her tongue peek out and nip the side of his length. He thought his breathing stopped as he watched her taste both sides playfully before swirling her tongue downwards, entirely moistening his throbbing endowment.

Rouge smiled to herself, knowing he was enjoying this probably as much as she was. While she had never done her actions on a person before, she had read up on it one day she got bored looking through secret files on the government's computer.

She was grateful to finally have a chance to put all that to good use—especially for Shadow.

Swiftly realizing she had gotten Shadow's full attention, in more ways then one, she moved her mouth upwards to the top of his arousal and engulfed it. Then she quickly receded, gave it a few more licks, then consumed more of his thickness yet again and moaned as she did.

Shadow had almost completely lost himself within the wonders of her craft, and her mouth, and shut his eyes yet again.

"…Yes…" he moaned, bucking his hips without realizing, "Yes Rouge!"

She gave a sound in response and rose to meet his motions with her mouth while keeping a light fist around his width and pumped it simultaneously.

"Ahhhhh! Rouge! " Shadow grunted, moving his hips faster and faster each second that passed. In succession, a slur of nearly incoherent words flew from his mouth as he shouted her name atop his lungs again and again until suddenly he stopped abruptly and breathed in very deeply and exhaled.

Rouge had to jump back at first from the force streaming behind his first ejaculation, but she quickly returned her mouth to him and lightly suckled on the tip as she fully consumed his essence as best she could, but some of it seeped out and down the sides of her mouth.

Shadow was completely lost in another world at this moment. He had never experienced such a empowering sensation his entire life. Gasping for air and stability, he finally managed to open his eyes again and nearly passed out from the sight of Rouge licking at the remainder of his explosion and loving every drop of it.

"Ro…u…"

There was actually something important he wanted to tell her, but the second he wanted to, he quickly forgot and concerned himself with catching his breath instead.

"Shhh" she giggled, giving him one more lick before licking her own lips and moving upto his chest, kneeling on all fours. Smirking, she combed her fingers through his tuft of fur and lightly sat on his abdomen. "We're not finished, yet…"

The second the weight of her lower body rested on him, something struck within him and in a split second, Rouge was on her back, cushioned by the pillows, and he had his hands planted firmly on her hips with his legs on either side of her--his pulsing thickness dripping.

Rouge's eyes widened and she gasped at the sight, but she eagerly had been expecting this moment.

"Do it Shadow." She demanded with a smirk. "Make me feel all of you!"

With a quick kiss to her lips, Shadow then licked them as he tried to position himself at her moist and inviting entrance.

Figuring he might need some help, Rouge reached down between them and rubbed him to lure him to the right spot. "Be gentle…" she added, knowing this would probably hurt.

"As you wish..." Shadow replied softly as he carefully eased into her with very short, but mildly quick thrusts to slide in as best as he could.

Biting her lip as she took in the new feeling, Rouge tried closing her eyes and taking brief, shallow breaths as her hands smoothed around his body and she outlined the curve of his tail with her finger.

Shadow, never attempting anything like this before, trusted her movements and read her body language before he made any sudden moves. But as the moments passed, they both moaned as he was halfway nestled inside her. A little unsure of what to actually do next, he risked an embarrassed look to her and she lightly trailed her fingertips across his hips and held them while gingerly guiding him slightly backwards, then forwards.

Shadow knew what to do, but he just wasn't sure of how to go about it. Nonetheless, he followed her lead as well as her pace.

Before long, he came to a sudden pause and looked to her with eyes full of glistening concern.

Once her eyes opened and met with his, she instantly understood and nodded. "Do your best, Shadow. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine."

A sincere look washed over his features and he nodded. "I'll take care of you, Rouge…" he stated—having an additional much deeper meaning.

With a smile, Rouge closed her eyes again, preparing herself for the breeching the point of no longer being an 'untouched' woman.

And with a long but moderately paced thrust, all of that was put aside and a small yelp escaped her, but Shadow's lips scooped up the sound with a deep and scrupulous kiss

'Shadow…' Rouge thought, as her hands tightened around him, 'You had better not leave me...! …Please…don't leave me….' she silently prayed, but knowing by the time she woke up the next morning, there would be an empty spot next to her and Shadow would be nowhere in sight. Even knowing this, she still hoped for him to stay with her, so they could face any outside complications as a team. But because she knew things wouldn't go that smoothly in the morning, she held him tighter and burrowed her face into his chest, as she lightly shook while shedding remorseful tears.

Sensing her shaking, Shadow kissed the top of her head between her ears, and carefully slipped both arms under her to hug her close. He knew she was crying for him and the both of them, but he would rather put himself in danger to protect her at all costs. But he knew that if he left, she would follow. That's just how dedicated she was to him.

And while that was a major concern to him, he also knew how important this moment was to her and he was honored that she wanted share her life and love with him. With a faint smile, he kissed her eye-lid and placed all other thoughts aside and focused on the two of them and their entwined emotions.

Only minutes had passed, but their pure and wondrous expression of tender devotion and trust felt as if it had been going on for hours.

Everytime Rouge shuddered or twitched, Shadow would lay close to her and hug her to him as he continued to delve deeper inside of her. And whenever Shadow would go too slow, Rouge would rub him on his back to give him the signal of it being okay to go faster.

Their love-making could be described in two beautiful words: sweet and sensational.

"Shadow…" Rouge pleaded, rubbing his back lightly. "Please, go faster…deeper…please. .!"

Responding to her request with giving her what she wanted Shadow moaned lowly and lifted her legs to wrap around his waist.

Deepening the mood, Rouge clutched him tighter and allowed her hips to mimic the motions of his while lightly calling his name.

Wanting to try another method, Shadow kissed her on the nose and slowly pulled out of her.

"Turn over…" he whispered

A little shocked by his order, but more intrigued than anything else, Rouge sat up, expanded her wings a little and got on her knees with her upper-body curved in a half "C" position as she clutched the pillows.

Eyeing her slick and full moistness from behind, a faint blush warmed Shadow's face.

"Mmm…Shadow?" Rouge called softly, "Are you allright…?" she questioned, starting to look behind her. Not wanting her to catch him staring, he shook his head to bring himself back to reality and rubbed his hips against her bottom before easing a bit climsily but gently back into her.

The instant she felt his fullness consume the walls of her liquid warmth, she hugged the pillows and gripped at them.

"Shadow…." she called, "Shadow….ahh.." she cooed, her tone faintly heightening in pitch.

"… Rouge … " he moaned back, delving deeper into her. "…So warm…" he muttered, without knowing as he closed his eyes. "…So…wonderful Rouge… …you're amazing…" he aimlessly complimented, holding to her sides tighter and increasing in his speed. "How… do you feel?"

"…Ohhh excellent, Shadow…!"

"Do you love this?"

"Yes…!"

"Do you want more?"

"Yes, please, Shadow! Stop teasing me! Make me come!"

"Anything Rouge…." he uttered, diving deeper and accelerating his speed more than half of what it was before. It wasn't long before he felt a rippling sensation bubble its way through his length and he went even faster.

"Rouge…I…I'm…!"

"Come Shadow! Anywhere! I don't care where!"

"Inside of you?"

"Yes! Now Shadow!"

With one final thrust, Shadow cried out her name and released his hot fiery essence into her depths the instant he felt hers rush over him and spill down his legs.

Breathing heavily, Shadow carefully moved himself from out of Rouge and collapsed into the unwelcoming waves of her bed and hugged her immediately.

Holding her next to his chest, he gasped to catch his breath as he felt her chest heave as much as his did.

"Rouge…", he croaked when he voice finally returned to him, "Rouge are you allright…?" he asked, cupping her face with his hand.

"Sh…Shad…ow…." The faint whisper of his name was all that she could mutter before her breathing slowed and sleep overtook her.

"Rouge…?" Shadow called again, but instead of expecting her to respond, he reached down and tossed the sheets over the both of them and squeezed her lovingly.

'I guess I overdid it….' He thought, chuckling to himself. Softly he kissed her forehead and whispered 3 little words that held tremendous power before he himself drifted off to sleep.

--

One more chapter to go….then a special decision.

-Mel


	5. Goodbye

Shadow and Rouge in

Nothing Lasts Forever 

Phase 5

**A/N: This chapter is EXTREMELY long and EXTREMELY graphic. If you don't think your stomach can take a lot of gore, then you may want to think twice about reading some of the later parts in this chapter.**

**A/N: Think this is the last chapter? I wonder about that myself.**

**-**

"**_When you doubt the path trod thus far, when the hand you held is lost to you, gaze anew at the heart that once was…for all the answers are within."_** _Sorcerer's Book(KH2)_

-

Nothingness.

A void.

Alone, Shadow lay within the depths of his sub-conscious. Floating as if submerged in a thick liquid, his inner being became partially consumed by his telepathic imagery as they assimilated with his subdued thoughts. He was dreaming yet had no realization of it. Whenever he shut his eyes, he always felt the same as if he was dreaming, but he never was. But those encounters were in the past now.

His drifting had yet to cease as it surrounded him in a cocoon within his mental suppression—almost mimicking the likeness of a womb.

There was an envelope of silence. Then like a flicker of light, distant sounds begun to emerge from the dark ellipse.

"_Papa…_ _Papa!"_ A soft wispy voice called to him. He had never heard it before, and yet, while it felt so distant and unknown—in another way, it felt so warm and familiar.

Who was calling him? Did they mean to call him? Did they mistake him for someone else?

Shadow didn't understand. Yet, because all of this was happening within his mind, he HAD to be the one the voices referred to…

Right…?

Groggily, he allowed their presence and listened...questioning the title they gave him._ Papa…...?_

"Papa wake up, today's the day!" Another wavering voice echoed.

"Come on, papa!"

..._Who…Who is it_…? Shadow spoke through the waves of his sub-conscious. Although he was 'nice' enough to grant them entry, no one other than himself was able to enter in here. Even the voices that taunted, tortured and haunted him weren't allowed this far.

Frowning slightly, Shadow slowly opened his eyes. A thin film of liquid glistened in his crimson ovals as he lifted his glossy eyes and curiously rested them on the two blurred figures before him. He blinked a few times to allow for his vision get adjusted to the opaqueness surrounding them, and we he succeeded, he could fully make out two energetic children standing before him. One male and one female, yet their appearance seemed very familiar to him. Instead of questioning the familiarity within their faces and forms, he said nothing and silently let his eyes brush over the two of them as he sat up on a bed of nothingness. The female, who appeared to be the eldest of the two, seemed no older than 8. Eagerly she looked at him through pure and caring eyes. A large pink bow was tied into her hair and a beaming smile played across her lips as his eyes studied her.

'That bow… had Rouge ever worn something like that?' he wondered, then placed the thought aside. Why think of Rouge all of a sudden?

Allowing his eyes to linger on her a bit more, something familiar about her appearance had begun to stir a realization within him, but he placed it aside and shifted his attention over to the other child. A young male, no older than 4, perked up when he noticed Shadow looking straight at him and giggled. Then that realization returned and hit Shadow more than before from the mere sight of this boy But before he could utter any words, the boy had already begun to happily climb into Shadow's lap.

"Hold me, papa. Keep me warm!" the young child pleaded, clinging to Shadow as best as he could with his tiny arms.

Seeing the younger be reunited with someone of great importance to him as well as herself, the young girl smiled mildly and nodded to Shadow.

Not fully understanding what was going on, but having a hunch, Shadow lightly lifted his hands to the boy and pulled him away just enough to look at his face.

Large and innocent eyes happily looked back up at him. But if Shadow hadn't known this little boy was someone else, he could have easily mistaken him for a younger version of himself. Sadly, his eyes softened as he begun to understand and without a word, he hugged the boy tightly to his chest. After a few moments passed, Shadow lightly lifted his attention to the young girl who now stood right next to him.

"Papa…" she spoke softly, lightly touching his shoulder. When she received a piercing look, her mouth dropped open to reply, then quickly shut as she reconsidered her words. "Papa…I…I'm pretty sure that now you know what today is…"

"Where is your mother…" he interrupted flatly, not realizing the words he declared.

Alarmed in the least the little girl smiled sadly and shook her head. "She's not with us yet. But there is a chance that she might be soon."

Knowing exactly who the mother she spoke of was, Shadow gingerly moved the boy away from his chest and slid him off his lap as he stared curtly at the young girl. "What are you saying…?"

She smiled. "But if she does then we can be a family….wouldn't you want us all to have the chance to be a family, papa?"

" 'Papa' ?" he questioned, standing to his feet, not taking his eyes off the girl. Slowly, he understood. Not because of the content, but because of the acceptance he had chosen to take.

"Look…I can't say that I'm not your father…" he admitted sadly, looking over to the little boy. Just peering into those wide and clear eyes drew a faint smile from Shadow but his frown soon returned. "But…I also can't say that I am…especially since the two of you have not been born yet…"

"We never will be…" the girl stated softly, barley being heard. "We can't. Mama isn't allowed to have any children and you—"

"I already know about myself lacking that ability…" he retaliated bluntly, fully aware of his impotence to breeding. But Rouge… also wasn't able to have children? He never knew… Why hadn't she told him?

'…Why didn't she tell me…' he shuddered, sulking in defeat. 'Why…? Did she think I would be upset with her and not want to be with her? IS that why she didn't tell me! ….Why didn't you trust me Rouge……..!' Scowling silently, it was made perfectly clear to the girl that her 'papa' had fully understood. She bowed her head in sympathy, imagining that she could understood his pain.

Shadow did feel angry by this at first, but it quickly dissolved into a sigh. "So, if your mother nor myself couldn't conceive the two of you, how are you standing here now…"

"Because…" the girl continued, eager and ready to answer the question, "My brother and I are your and mama's unborn children…"

'What…!'

" And since we can't be granted life in the world you both live in, the two of us had to remain in a dark and secluded place…"

Shadow winced as his expression collapsed. "…Then…what are the two of you doing here!" he demanded, overlooking the opinion of the inside of his mind being 'dark'.

Adverting his gaze, the girl had already been prepared to answer that question. Nodding slowly, she bit her lip and turned her saddening full eyes towards him. "Simply to warn you, papa."

"Warn… ! You mean—!"

The child's words finally got through to him.

'Oh no….' he feared. It all made sense.

Rouge could not have children and his sperm was defective. He knew that about himself already.

And since he couldn't produce effectively, the two of them couldn't raise a family of their own.

… … …

Did Rouge even want to have children? Did she know she couldn't? Why didn't he know!

Feeling almost entirely defeated and plagued with answerless questions, Shadow forced himself to not look at either of them.

The acceptance of them being his and Rouge's unborn children was a hefty toll on him and his heart. But he did accept it.

They never existed, but were somehow able to 'warn' him in his dreams and because of that he was the only one to speak with them.

That also meant the very day they spoke of was ---

"Papa…"the youngest prodded, tugging at Shadow's arm. Out of instinct, Shadow almost wanted to smack his hand away but something inside him made him consider otherwise. His body didn't make a move but his adverted eyes were racing.

"Papa…" the little boy continued, "I know that you understand…You already chose to be with us. Now we wait and see if mama will choose to be with us too."

Now Shadow completely understood.

They were waiting for himself and Rouge to join them in death. And if they purposely contacted him on this day then…he knew what he had to do. But it would crush Rouge's heart if she knew. Then again, he wouldn't be surprised if she already had known. Shaking slightly from the thought, Shadow clenched a fist and looked elsewhere.

Seeing his reaction, the girl nodded, as if an agreement was decided and smiled to her brother then returned her gaze to Shadow.

"Today, then…" she said, with a hint of hope.

"Today…" Shadow reiterated lowly in a whisper, pondering, but still not facing either of them. But suddenly a light hand carefully clutched his shoulder. His body flinched, but relaxed as he allowed the embrace. But the moment he did, he began to feel a sudden drowsiness start to overwhelm him. "Papa…" the young girl spoke softly, leaning close to his ear. "…If you and mama choose to stay with us, that would make today a good day, wouldn't it?"

Feeling both depressed and equally shocked by the whole situation, Shadow slowly turned to face them but the moment he did, the children and everything else around them all disappeared.

And all he heard was the wavering of a faint and warm voice say : "Goodbye, papa… Goodbye…"

With a startled gasp, Shadow awoke from his telepathic encounter and barely had time to catch his breath before quick and nimble arms draped around his body and pulled him close.

Struggling for air without waking his partner in the process, Shadow discreetly turned to look at Rouge, who was still asleep but had him locked in a firm but loving hold.

"Got…you…" she murmured in her sleep with a goofy drowsy grin plastered across her face.

Shadow blinked in surprise, not knowing how to respond for a split second. So many emotions and thoughts were running through his head and seeing Rouge again burned that same question into his mind. 'Why didn't you tell me…'

But seeing how almost fragile and innocent she appeared in her slumber, Shadow couldn't stay mad at her for long and soon his expression softened. "…Rouge…." Delicately, he brushed a finger across her cheek and lightly rested it beneath her chin. Despite how rambunctious she was when she slept, she appeared to be as soft and fragile as the petals of a flower. But Shadow knew better than that. A faint smile graced his lips as he watched her and toyed with the ends of her hair. "…What would I do without you..." he murmured, his words trailing off as remnants of his dream drifted back into his mind.

Those words that child spoke… His body shuddered as what she said returned to him.

"…_If you and mama choose to stay with us, that would make today a good day, wouldn't it?"_

He shivered. He never liked feeling fear from anything, but this time he didn't know what to expect or what he was ultimately going up against—A tyrant because of a rebellion ---or preserving the life of his family…

Family…

Maria was the only form of true family he ever had or considered important enough to be labeled as family. But now, Rouge was the most important person to him and he would never forgive himself if anything happened to her because of him.

If he stayed with her, they would be in danger, and if he left to ward off that danger, he knew that she would still get involved in someway. It was in her nature to meddle into things.

But for a moment, Shadow put his worries and concerns aside and leaned down to softly bush his lips across her cheek.

"…I love you…" he whispered into her ear and smiled when he saw it twitch in response. '…You're so beautiful Rouge…' he thought, gliding a finger across her jaw line and simply eyeing her. But the more that he did, the heavier the tug on his heart became and the guilt and regret of what he had to do began to infiltrate him yet again.

And before he could realize it, his body had begun to quiver. The burning of unwelcomed tears stung the backs of his eyes. Rouge, still asleep, only hugged him closer and nuzzled his stomach.

Shadow found this almost too hard to bear.

With great reluctance, he placed his hands behind his back and slowly moved Rouge's off and away from his body.

She slightly stirred and Shadow paused for a moment, then delicately placed her hands beside her. Gingerly, he lifted his hands under her upper body and lightly pulled her up and away from him. But suddenly he stopped.

Her eyes were lightly closed, her hair crisply framed her face and was still partially damp with her sweat…

Her face was calm and composed, the hint of red still remained across her cheeks from the previous night's activities…

Her lips were slightly parted as small sounds of her breathing emerged between them…

And ever so slowly, Shadow found himself being drawn to her… closer and closer until his nose brushed hers.

Then the sorrow hit him dramatically as the thought of never seeing her again tore through his mind and the next thing he knew, he had her in a tight embrace and his lips eagerly against hers.

Passionately and also sadly, Shadow kissed her and sent her the best love he could ever give her in that one kiss.

Soon, Rouge began to finally wake up and before her haze of drowsiness could clear, she felt a continuous warmth across her lips and automatically kissed back.

"…Shad…ow…" she murmured, folding her arms around his neck. "…Shadow…"

"Shh…" he shushed softly, placing a finger to her lips then leading it and two others to her face. Gently stroking her skin, Shadow kept his eyes closed and laid his forehead against hers. So many emotions…so many things he wanted to say in this one moment…to make up for everything, knowing full well he couldn't do that now…

"Shadow…?" Rouge asked, almost sounding innocent from the bits of sleepiness still tagged to her voice. "Shadow…"

"Rouge…." He replied, with a hint of uneasiness in his voice. Cautiously, he opened his eyes and widened them at the sight of the large aquamarine jewels staring sleepily back at him.

And there, he restricted himself no longer.

Without words, Shadow covered his mouth over hers and hugged her lovingly as his hands frantically roamed her curves.

A low sound escaped Rouge and the second it did, Shadow brought her down to the bed and laid her on her side.

He followed suit and kissed her sweetly before telling her softly to turn around.

Giving him a strange look, she parted her lips to speak, but Shadow dipped to catch those words she dropped and returned them in a kiss.

And after a reaction like that from a guy who usually withheld his feelings, Rouge eagerly went along with it!

Seeing her acceptance, Shadow lightly kissed her neck and nibbled on it as one hand traveled down her back and the other down her right side. Eagerly, he cupped the outline of her rear and lightly pressed his hips against her.

A soft moan slipped from Rouge and she nudged him back, letting him know she would accept.

Nervousness struck through him at that moment, but he pushed it aside. Slowly, he slid his hand up to her shoulder, around it, then downwards-spreading it over and across her peaks. His touch soon slowed as his palm glid over her nipple and caressed it in a circular motion.

Rouge moaned, whispering his name as she clasped a hand over his and pressed it closer.

"Don't…stop…"

"I didn't plan on it…" he whispered back, leading a flurry of moist kisses down her neck and to her shoulder as he led one hand to freely caress her thighs.

A quick gasp escaped from her as Shadow swiftly found her warmth. She fidgeted a little and moaned lowly as his fingers stroked her.

Not long after, Shadow pressed his length against her. Since he was still pretty new to lovemaking, he clumsily took a while to find her entrance.

But all was made clear when the loud and drowsy moan from Rouge rang in his ears.

Loving the sound of it, he ventured deeper inside her. Looping an arm around her waist, he trailed his lips to the back of her neck and resumed his nibbling.

"Uhhnn…" Rouge moaned, unknowingly wiggling her hips, beckoning him to keep going.

Holding her close to him, Shadow shut his eyes and allowed the sensations of their love overtake him.

-

Two hours later, Shadow lay in the bed wide-awake with his eyes to the ceiling.

Restless.

After making love to Rouge, his worries and concerns had come flooding immediately back to him and kept him awake. Rouge, on the other hand, slept silently immediately afterwards and had cuddled close to his side with an arm laced across his midsection. Lazily, his eyes trailed to her form and focused on her slow and deep breathing.

'...Beautiful…' he thought, lightly stroking her cheek with a finger. But then he stopped.

"…_wouldn't that make today a good day?"_

Remembering the words spoken to him in his dreams, Shadow roughly shook his head to relive them from his mind, but no avail. He had been holding it back for the past 2 hours, but now, it was nearly tearing him from the inside out.

He and Rouge couldn't stay together.

They couldn't live the life they wanted despite their feelings for the other.

They couldn't start their own family and chances were that today, Shadow would never see her again.

Despite the fact that he was considered 'immortal', Shadow knew there was a way for him to still 'die'—but it wouldn't be a natural 'death'.

'What do I do now…?' he thought urgently to himself, '…I can't stay here…and worse than that…' he trailed off, looking to Rouge's face.

And there, his features dropped.

Their future and lives….they couldn't genetically pass anything on.

All his hopes, dreams and newly regained courage had been put into Rouge and their commitment, and even though it was over a very short period of time, Shadow eagerly awaited the day when he could see the fruits of their labor in full blossom.

But now, that was not going to happen—and he couldn't bear it.

Feeling his throat tightening in anguish, Shadow choked back any hints of sadness that would dare to display themselves and carefully slipped out of bed and out of Rouge's warm embrace.

The thought crossed his mind to use Chaos Control and leave without a trace, but that wouldn't be fair to Rouge.

…Rouge…

Risking one last look at her, a few soft words passed by his lips as a faint smile curved them. He took one last look at her room, his eyes traveling from wall to ceiling, to wall then back to her in the bed.

He wanted this memory to be a beautiful one.

Slowly, and painfully, he turned to face her door, then stopped. Glancing to her nightstand, a thought passed through his mind and he left the room for a few moments. When he returned, he was already finishing putting on his semi-damp gloves. He looked down at his right wrist and thought for a few seconds before extracting the ring bracelet around it. Holding it gingerly in his hand as if it were a small form of life, Shadow walked over to the bed. The thought crossed his mind to place it in her hand for fear that it would wake her up and she'd follow him right that second, so instead, he placed the belonging on her nightstand.

Not wanting to make things more difficult than they already were, Shadow reluctantly forced himself not to stare at her—knowing if he did, he would never be able to leave her.

Closing his eyes with his back turned to her, he heaved a quiet, but heavy sigh to recompose himself. And when he succeeded, he boldly stepped out of her room, lightly closing her tasseled door behind him.

-

The moment he stepped outside, he felt nothing. The heavens had opened and streams cool liquid pelted down on and around him. It took him a while to realize he was getting drenched. His mind remained elsewhere.

He didn't think, he didn't show any emotion.

All he did was walk. He walked wherever his feet took him.

Soon, he came across an abandoned highway. He had been devoid trudging alongside it for such a while, that he didn't realize until later what significance it held. Facing the highway, his eyes aimlessly trailed over to the spot in the concrete that showed skid marks and proof of impact embedded in it.

Then he realized…

'This is…the place where Rouge…' The moment he thought of her, a jolt rushed through him and caused him to temporarily lose his balance. Regaining it, he shook his head and placed a drenched gloved hand over one eye. Seeing that same spot where she found him practically dead, yet still dying, conjured up unwanted memories, and guests for that matter, as a sharp pain tore through his head, causing him to step back.

"…N…No…" he managed to force out while fighting against himself as well as the icy water pelting down unmercifully on him. "…Stop it…" he demanded. Those spirits hadn't interrupted him or bothered him for several hours, and how they decided to come back? He wouldn't let it stay that way. He suppressed them before, but it was time to rid himself of them

"Yes…" he murmured to himself, forcing himself on.

Ever since the incident, the road was closed off and the highway became abandoned. Normally Shadow would have loved to run on it to relieve stress and clear his mind. But now---

It was too late for that.

With a controlling growl, Shadow lifted his heavy feet and continued his trudge towards the office Rouge used.

His body felt so heavy…

His breaths were short…

'What's…happening to me…?' he thought, breaking the silence he once had. Irritated, he shook his head and neared closer to the building. Upon reaching the door, he noticed it had been a bit rusted.

'...It has been pouring a lot lately' he stated in his mind. Discarding the thought, Shadow shoved the doors open and took a look inside.

The interior was so tiny, he barely had to walk three steps to reach the computer terminal. Sitting in the swivel chair, he sighed and punched in a few keys—completely unaware of those in the shadows surrounding him.

A cold chill spread throughout the room and whispered over Rouge's exposing skin. With a shudder, she woke up with a start in cold sweat. Gasping for air, a light hand went to her throat as she panted to regain proper oxygen. 'What's going on!' she pondered, looking around. The instant her eyes caught sight of the empty space beside her in the bed, she gasped sharply and threw off the covers.

He's gone!

"Shadow!" she called, hopping around on the floor, kicking the remaining bed-sheets from around her ankles and throwing on her robe. "SHADOW! ANSWER ME!" she cried. Frantically, she stumbled to her door and pushed it open, nearly falling to the floor from using so much force. "Shadow, please!" she called again, her eyes fleeting through the living room, the dining room, the kitchen.

He wasn't there.

Immediately, she checked the bathroom, even looked in some of the cabinets, and the hamper.

Nothing.

Shaking, she started to run to the front door.

**_Wait… Go back…_**

Rouge stopped cold in her tracks. What and where was that voice coming from? Was it trying to warn her? Feeling a twinge in her heart, Rouge ran back to the kitchen and looked around and stopped immediately when her eyes beheld the refrigerator.

She had gotten a lot of different alphabetized letter magnets a few years back and was shocked to see them actually put to decent use.

In an uneven line across the fridge read in red and yellow characters:

" I love u but cant stay

do not follow

listen to m3 pl3z

and b3 go0d"

Tears had formed in Rouge's eyes as she read the message over a second and third time. He used numbers when he ran out of letters just to get his point across to her. Just for her. 'That idiot!' she cried, forcing a sad smile '….Idiot…!' Shaking, she threw her hands to her face to muffle her sobs, but then, she stopped. Lifting her head, a newfound glint sparkled in them, and she ran to her room. Throwing on an oversized t-shirt with wide enough slits in the back for her wings to slip through and some pants, she almost rushed out the door, but stole a glance at the nightstand.

Shadow's bracelet.

After what they had both gone through the night before with him almost leaving her and the trouble they had gone through---she returned to him what she held onto, but got something much more in return.

He gave her his heart.

She had given it back to him, thinking he'd leave her and never come back, but since he gave it back, could that mean---?

Without a second thought, she snatched up Shadow's bracelet, slipped on her arm and dashed out the front door.

'I'm on my way, Shad—' >CRACK!

A loud and excruciating sound broke through the air, as Rouge was unable to finish her thoughts and instantly dropped to the concrete in a heap. A splash of red sparked from her head and jaw but soon became mixed with the clear droplets from above. Breathing rapidly, her heart brutally beat against her chest and her mouth was stuck in a gape. Unable to keep her eyes open for long, with a soft and sporadic sounds of combating to breathe, she forced herself…to rest…

Standing on either sides of her were two shadowy figures armed with odd sorts of weapons.

There was a burst of static then: "We found her. Agent neutralized. Permission to send in reinforcements, granted."

"Excellent. Bring her in." the other line replied.

There was a response in military jargon, before the call ended.

Stepping out into one of the festive streetlights near them, the two figures revealed themselves to be G.U.N soldiers but their uniforms proved they worked alongside someone else as well. One of them knelt down and placed two fingers to Rouge's neck and wrist as the other motioned for their teammates to infiltrate the building. "Allright, let's move. If that Ultimate Life is still inside, he'll be taken care of. If he isn't we've got another sector ready and waiting for him."

The other nodded and chuckled and roughly snatched up Rouge's limp body and draped her nonchalantly over his shoulder, ignoring her obvious wounds. "Wooow, she's really soft. Think we can kill a few minutes before heading back to HQ?"

The other glared at his partner and smacked him upside the back of his head. "I said, let's move OUT. That was a direct order!"

"Sheesh allright allright, I'm movin out already!" Then he scoffed "She's a bat anyway…"

"That never stopped mankind before… Anyway, regardless of where that Ultimate Lifeform is, we've got something he wouldn't bear to lose…"

_-_

_Shadow…where are you…?_

_-_

Shadow paused immediately in his actions and turned around. He thought he heard a soft voice calling to him—someone important to him--

But nothingness was all that greeted him back.

"…Am I hearing things?" he cautiously wondered wanting to believe that, and glanced upwards, looking for a sign or answer.

There was none.

Disturbed and a bit confused, Shadow furrowed his brow, but continued to resume his research. If he could find the data surrounding himself, he could erase it and the knowledge that he ever existed as "Project Shadow".

"And they'll have no reason to bother her as long as she continues with her investigations…" he murmured to himself.

Feeling a sudden cold chill, the stray quills on Shadow's back stood up and he shivered. "What was that…?" he questioned, again looking around.

Again seeing nothing out of the ordinary, Shadow continued with his previous engagement. Then a powerful and heavy sensation rolled over him and forced him to the floor. He quickly recovered, but for some reason had a deeply depressing feeling.

Then all he could think of was…

"Rouge---! I know it's her!" he cried, pushing himself to his feet. "…Rouge!"

Suddenly, the image of his unborn daughter and son lurched into his mind and he shook his head roughly to get he decrepit thoughts from his mind.

"NO!" he cried, grabbing at his head and shaking it roughly. "NOO!"

It almost seemed as if he were debating with an unseen force—and losing sanity from it.

"No, I won't do it! I won't kill her!"

**Do it…**

**For your own good…**

**Forget her…**

"No stop it! I won't listen!"

**Get rid of her…**

**Nuisance…**

**Dispose…**

**_She needs you…_**

"What--?"

That last voice—it sounded like---

Not wasting another second in that place, Shadow burst through the door and into the raging downpour—only to take a blow to the chest that sent him flying back into the office wall.

Scrambling to get up, Shadow roughly wiped the rapid flow of crimson from his mouth and jumped to his feet, ready to attack when a gunshot rang out and pierced him in the arm.

Growling, he clawed at the wound, only to realize he had been shot with a tranquilizer and its contents were rapidly emptying into his vessel. Since he wasn't like humans or like any other lifeform, it would take a little longer for the effects to actually work.

"What the hell did you do to me!" he snarled at the figures standing in the doorway. Rows upon rows of them lay beyond the two crowding the doorframe. When he received no answer, he prepared to annihilate them for attacking him, but a bright light flashed and bounded around the room, causing him to adjust to the change. When he recovered, much to his surprise, he could make out a bright medium sized screen connected to some machine or communicator of some sort and before he could utter a word, the images his eyes beheld scarred him for life.

Rouge was shown on the screen, with her t-shirt torn and her pants hanging open. Next to her was a soldier with the top of his uniform discarded and a tank top in its place. With a sadistic grin, he waved to Shadow and used a long and cylinder shaped rod to glide under Rouge's chin.

Shadow's eyes widened and his pupils became almost microscopic as the soldier used the rod to turn Rouge's head to the side and exposed her wounds.

That…did it.

Enraged with a force beyond explanation, Shadow roared and emitted a power that sent all of the soldiers flying back. Swirls of red encircled and spiraled around him and the glow amplified the glimmer of his eyes even more.

'I'll KILL them…!' 

And within the quarter of a split second, Shadow was gone.

Over in the Laboratory on Central City, the soldier that had sat beside Rouge in the transmission rubbed the back of his head and asked another within the room, "Do you think we overdid it?"

"Nah" the other replied, shaking his head. "It isn't liked she was molested or raped…"

"……Um.."

The soldier's eyes widened. "Tell me you didn't rape her…"

"No, not that! …But I did…have a little fun…"

"Dammit, our orders were to distract him, not send him an invite to kill us! You may be the death of us all, soldier!"

He shuddered and laid Rouge aside. "Whatever. Let's just check back with the President…"

-

Light…

Floating…

_Where am I?_

Surrounded in a delicate encasing, the young woman's consciousness slowly reidentified itself and allowed her to do the same.

"Reawakening", the consciousness known as "Rouge" slowly and lightly rose to greet herself.

_I'm alive _she thought. Identifying what and where she was, she slowly "stood" to her feet within her own illuminating void.

Looking around, she called out for someone—someone dear to her.

_Shadow?_

Was that his name? She tried to remember. Yes, that was it.

_Shadow?_ she called again, but received no answer.

About to lose hope, a soft light and warm voice spoke to her.

So warm—and also so familiar—who or what was it?

She felt she knew it somehow.

But it wasn't his.

No, not his—it was—

"…Mama…!"

_Mama?_

_Who are you? _she asked, her voice wavering into the atmosphere, _Who's there?_

As if to answer her question, a soft giggle was heard and a light hand touched her shoulder.

"Mama…it's good to see you, at long last. My brother and I get to see you…"

"You're beautiful, mommy!"

_Huh? What? Me? Who are you?_ she asked, looking around for them and her eyes met with two smallish forms before her.

One was female. The other was male. The female resembled herself in a way, whereas the male resembled Shadow almost exactly.

Kneeling down to meet their heights, the young woman eagerly and warmly outstretched her arms to them. Small tears ran down her cheeks as they understood and ran into her loving embrace.

_My children…_ she whispered gladly, _…our children._

"Yes, mama" the girl replied, hugging tighter.

The little boy jumped up and down while sharing hugs, excitedly making appeased sounds and giggles.

But then she stopped. _…Why are we all here…?_ She asked

The girl slightly pulled away, expecting the question and whispered. "We're waiting for you and papa to stay with us…your fam-i-ly?" she said, the last word she spoke unsurely, as if she had just heard the word and found out what it meant.

_Family…? But I can't have children…_ she said with a lowered expression. _I never could, I was born like this… The only female in my family to not be able to bear a child…so I told myself I never wanted any to keep myself from worrying and dreading about it so much…But I was just afraid of accepting the truth…_

"I know." the girl replied

"And me too!" the boy chimed in, jumping up and down again.

"But mama, that's allright. If papa decides to join us and you do too, then…we can experience what it's like to have a fam…ily. And if we were, then that would make today a good day wouldn't it?"

_Today…a good…day?_

The girl nodded. "Yes…"

_Wait a minute, this doesn't sound right…_

"Please mama, stay with us?" the boy pleaded. The woman looked down at him and when she beheld his eyes, she instantly found what she fell in love with in Shadow all over again. Hugging him dearly to her chest, she shuddered as she wept.

_I'm sorry…We shouldn't be here. But I'm not going to die yet. I'm not giving up on you, Shadow or us!_

And with that, a bright light emitted from her as the void gave way and she fell, separated from her children and continued to plummet through endless luminescence.

-

"So, where is she?" an impatient male voice questioned intently. "Where is Rouge?"

"She's neutralized, sir." One of the soldiers replied, saluting the image of the man on the screen before him.

"I know that, you twit. You told me when it happened! Well, where is her specimen?"

"His whereabouts are unknown, sir." The other soldier answered, also saluting. "We had heard his previous location had been pinpointed at the agent's office in Central City, but he's on the run now."

As if on some sort of cue, a sharp sonic boom filled the room and in a spark of red and black, Shadow appeared .

His feet didn't touch the floor, as he hovered in mid-air, frantically looking for Rouge. And the moment he located her sprawled out on the floor, anger tore through him and he flashed to her side.

"Rouge!" he called, his flaming eyes fleeting between her closed lids and her mouth. "…Answer me, Rouge…!"

A jolt shot through him as he felt her body shake then jump in his arms and the moment she regained consciousness, she began flailing her arms and legs wildly as if she were drowning. "Shadow!" she called frantically and Shadow quickly held her to his chest, hugging her—his rage fading. "It's allright, Rouge! You're okay now…" he trailed off, remembering her wounds. Upon doing so, he quickly checked and examined her head and her face with his fingers.

Splotches of red stained the fingertips of his gloves.

In utter shock, he stared at it as if it were a foreign substance he had never seen before.

Everything he ever knew and loved and cared for was shattered and endangered at that moment. And for the second time that night, Shadow lost it.

With a sharp glare, he spun around and met dead eye to eye with the soldiers who captured Rouge—recognizing one of them as the same one from the video transmission.

That smug gloss in his eyes…The shade of them… The way his eyebrows lifted and his mouth began its spread as he cried out in horror… His hands raising in a foolish attempt to shield himself…

And from that point on, all Shadow saw—was red. Cries and screams echoed throughout the room. Spurts and sparks of blood tore into the air as he ripped through the soldier—dissecting him of his arm, his leg, his neck, decapitating him…

With his hands covered and soaked with splatters of deep thick blood, Shadow nonchalantly shook the dangling excess of it with a swift movement of his wrist. Standing above the dismembered soldier, Shadow scoffed at his pitiful remains and raised his foot, preparing to smash the soldier's head.

"---op! Shadow stop!"

That cry…who was it..? He had been so driven by rage, he nearly lost control of himself.

'…She saw me like this…'

Turning around, his body shook as the anger rippled down into the bottom of his body and started to dissipate at the sight of Rouge.

But she…

Trembling in complete shock and horror, Rouge stood with a shaky hand over her mouth. She shook her head continuously in denial of the events that just occurred before her, while tears continued to flow from her now red eyes.

Had she been crying the whole time?

Oh no...

'… Because of me...'Shaking his head, the guilt began to pile up inside him. Shaking from the fear of her never being able to see him the same way again, Shadow dropped his hands to his sides and started to take a hesitant step forward. But suddenly, his body refused to move and locked down on him.

Slowly, he was sinking to the floor but managed to hinder the process by balancing himself on one knee on the floor.

'Wh—what--!' he growled in his mind, clenching his chest. Then a series of images rushed into his mind, reminding him of the tranquilizer he was shot with earlier.

Swearing strongly, he struggled to stay focused as a dizzying wave crashed against him, but was losing rapidly. Rouge and the flickering light on the ceiling above were the last images he saw before passing out.

"Shadow no!" Rouge shrieked, too afraid to move and too shocked to just stand there. She would have stayed there wallowing in her indecisiveness if not for the mocking voice of the President.

Her ears twitched as she heard him mocking her and she slowly turned her head to face him on the screen---her moist eyes brimming with hatred and liquid.

Not seeming to care the least about what had happened to one of his soldiers, the President clapped and announced for the remaining soldiers to scoop up Shadow and carry him to another room---an operating room…

Knowing where they planned on taking him, Rouge straightened herself up and started to run after them but three guards blocked her path. Angered, sweat beaded her brow as she glared up at them—her hair matting to the sides of her face. "Move, or else I'll make a way through you…!" she threatened, preparing to attack when the sound of the President clapping caused her to stop.

"Excellent work, agent…" he mused, still clapping, "…At first I had my doubts, but you did a commendable job capturing him. I'm impressed."

"I don't care!" Rouge snapped acidically, starting to push by the soldiers when the President stopped her again.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. Grab her!" He commanded, and the soldiers did as they were told.

Held in a vice grip on both her arms, legs and around her neck, there was little she could do let alone barely breathe. The President saw this and motioned for them to loosen the clutch on her throat a little.

How generous…

"I apologize that we have to do this to you agent, but you were authorized to carry out your orders and nothing more with the subject. And to think when I last contacted you, you refused to hand him over to me. Even when I offered to double your reward."

The soldiers holding her exchanged quick and silent whispers and Rouge squirmed to try and wriggle out of their grasps as best she could to make them stop, but they only squeezed her arms and legs tighter.

Yelping painfully, Rouge hung her head and shut her eyes, fighting back the piercing sting behind her eyes.

"…Please don't resist agent…" the President resumed, "…otherwise you'd be in more pain…" He paused, eyeing her discreetly through the screen. "I should have known better than to entrust an emotional woman with such a task. …Yet I knew you had some connection with this creature and I had hoped that very connection would lead you to him for me."

Rouge didn't want to listen anymore. She squeezed her eyes as tight as she could to forcefully block out his words, but to no avail.

"And since you refused my direct orders, you are no longer an affiliate of this sector. I'm removing your status from you and labeling you as nothing more than a traitor."

'No…' she thought 'no….!'

"And…in addition to you being a traitor, you are to be executed promptly…"

'No!' Rouge shrieked in her mind, shaking again—her body too numb to feel anymore pain at that moment caused by the soldiers.

"But…since I'm feeling a bit generous towards you, since you did capture the Ultimate Life with impeccable timing, I'll extend your sentence until dawn. You have less than 15 hours to mope and hate yourself. I suggest you make the most of it." He then nodded to the soldiers with a despicable smile. "Send her to the OR. Let her watch her precious Ultimate Life squirm while we extract his genes. And someone clean up this mess while you're at it." He added, referring to the scattered remains of the soldier on the floor. "Dismissed."

At the command, the soldiers saluted, and still kept a firm hold on Rouge. Allowing her to walk, the soldiers who held her legs resumed their positions in front of her and led the way to the O.R.—with a dispirited Rouge dragging her feet behind them.

-

_Shadow… …Shadow!…_

-

Hearing that same voice calling out to him, Shadow stirred and moved his head from side to side. 'Who's…calling me…?' he inquired, slowly opening his eyes and then quickly shutting them.

That light…its so bright! Yet he tried it again and allowed his vision to adjust to the luminance of the room.

"Where am I…?" he asked, looking around and taking in his surroundings. But once he tried to sit up, he couldn't. It didn't take long for him to realize that his body was restricted.

Instead of straps, he was tautly secured to an operating table constructed of titanium slabs bolted to a rather long steel table.

Glancing at the contraption as if it were a foolish attempt to hold him down, Shadow scoffed. It was a rather desperate attempt to keep him down, but not a useful one at all.

But his amusement quickly dissipated into fear as he frantically looked around for Rouge. "ROUGE!" He called, then suddenly winced. Darting his attention sharply to his left arm, he caught sight of a tiny leaf of something white poking up from his arm. Turning his arm towards him, he realized that a thick padded bandage had been wrapped around his forearm. A small shaded area of a moistened buildup leaked through the bandage—indicating something was either injected into him or extracted out.

His eyes widened in shock as the thought of a part of him being taken away and pushed against the bars with his body.

Nothing happened.

Struggling now, he squirmed and fought harshly against the bars, yelling and shouting loudly—his cries of pain and anguish echoing through the corridors—his empty demands for chaos control—

Halfway down the hall next to Shadow's confinement, Rouge's ears perked up from his sound, while the rest of her remained distant and emotionally beaten.

"…Shadow…is that you, Shadow…" she murmured, straining her ears to listen. Painfully and slowly, she raised her head and suddenly stopped dragging her feet.

Through crystal clear glass window, she saw Shadow—strapped down to a metallic device. There were wires and tubes all around him. In fact there were so many, she couldn't bring herself to believe that he actually knew about them.

"SHADOW!" she choked out.

Feeling chills up his spine, Shadow looked to the window. He couldn't hear anything—the glass was too thick for that. But at the sight he saw, his brief joy of seeing Rouge was immediately destroyed by the grips the soldiers had her in.

"ROUGE!" he vociferated, but his voice bouncing off the bright white walls of the O.R.

Stricken with horror and malaise, the grief-stricken bat began to shudder and cried out. "What have they done to him?" she shrieked, forgetting about the soldiers and making a break for the glass. She barely got an inch away from them, and was sharply reminded of their presence.

"Just what do you think you're doing!" Once shouted as another hit her in the back of the head with the end of his shotgun.

With a yelp, Rouge's body went limp in their grasps for a moment and she forced herself to lift her head back up.

"….bas…tard…" she whispered, the words barely trickling from her lips.

"What was that!"

"Speak up!"

Pushing some of the other soldiers aside, the one with the shotgun fiercely kicked Rouge behind the knees, sending her plummeting them.

"Stop it!…Stop it I'm warning you: she threatened—one eye shut from the blow.

The soldier grinned and kicked her again. "Oh yeah? Maybe this'll keep you quiet…" he stated, cocking his gun and pointing it at her.

Only able to see part of what was going on from her hindered vision, Rouge gasped and nodded.

Standing unbalanced to her feet, she headed towards the glass once more—reaching out to it as if her beloved hedgehog was within her very grasp.

Three of the soldiers started to pursue her, when the one with the shotgun stopped them. "Let her go." He said with a sadistic smirk "She's going to be executed anyway…"

_Light..._

_…All Shadow saw was light. Rouge—his angel—was reaching out for him._

"_Shadow…" he could hear her sweet voice whisper "Shadow…!"_

_In awe, he watched her come closer to him._

_There were no restraints in his pseudo reality…there was no blood…no pain…_

_Her wispy fingers motioning for him to come to her—to bask in the warmth of her arms and be embraced._

_There was no pain…_

_No pain…_

_Eagerly, he extended a hand out to hers—his being the only splotch of shadow in a glorious surrounding of light._

_Just directly behind her, he could make out the familiar forms of those he thought he wouldn't actually see today—_

_The young girl with the pink bow in her hair…and the smallish hedgehog that had resembled him so much…_

"_My children…" he thought, outstretching his arms for the 3 of them "Our children…"_

_Ecstasy and joy were the only words that could describe how Shadow felt the moment they all fell happily into his arms._

"_I'll never leave you again" he heard himself speak. After precious moments of several hugs, the little girl started chuckling and peered up at him._

"_Papa.." the little boy spoke._

"…_wouldn't that make today…a good day?"_

_A good day?_

_...a good day?_

_...a good day...?_

Shadow gasped as everything around him went pitch black and in slow motion, reality ripped through his illusions as the image of Rouge, beaten and bleeding pressed against the thick glass, pounding on it…and pounding on it.

He couldn't make out any of her words by sound, but he could clearly read the shapes and movements of her mouth.

"Shadow!" she was saying—or perhaps she were yelling it? He couldn't tell. He didn't know what he did or what happened in that room while he was strapped down, but something in that room got Rouge to smile.

For the first time since early that morning—Rouge smiled. And instinctively, he felt himself smile back, forcing away the disturbing churning in his stomach.

Something was going to happen, he could feel it.

He could tell she was pleased she got him to smile—and seeing that, she nodded and spoke something he had difficulty making out.

"Yu lia" he repeated, then made it out along with the rest "You liar. I missed you. … I saw our children"

"She saw our---"

**That woman…**

**If she is willing…**

**Then it is not by force…**

"No…" he mouthed, the cold reminders of those voices came shrouding his mind again.

**Traiiiitoor…**

**Trying to protect her…**

"STOP IT!" he cried, trying to wriggle out from the restraints. "STOP! LEAVE HER OUT OF THIS!"

**She is…**

**A part of you now…**

**You share…**

**Everything with her now…**

**Papa…**

All of Shadow's oxygen stood at a complete standstill and his body nearly went on lockdown.

'Papa….papa…?'

Then it hit him. Those spirits, the voices in his head that provoked him and used him, his "children"!

It was a lie. Everything had been set up from the first night he let that truck hit him—when those spirits took control of him and lead him to that highway. They knew she had to be around, and if they caused a large enough disturbance, she'd be there.

For him.

All for him…

And the night before when they took over his body again was another part of their plan. Either outcome would have sufficed. If Shadow didn't win control over his body back, they would have raped Rouge and instilled his defective seed in her anyway.

She didn't have to even become pregnant. All that was needed was for her to become one with him.

And that was exactly what happened.

They had been playing into their hands the whole time and didn't realize it.

…And the farce about them actually having unborn children waiting for them---!

"…That was just their ploy of killing us off… Knowing we'd be vulnerable enough to fall for it…"

No wonder…it all made sense to him now…

"All this time…we were so foolish…!"

**Exactly…**

**Without her…**

**You cannot live on…**

**Cannot pass anything on…**

**Nothing…**

**You are…**

**Nothing…**

**Worthless…**

**Traitor…**

Broken, Shadow opened his mouth to object, but no sound came out. 'No…' he thought, his insides hot and feeling as if they were being torn to shreds piece by piece within him. Burning tears stung his eyes and flooded them as he shut them tightly, fighting back the urges to scream.

They had gotten what they wanted.

They had gotten through him, they had gotten to Rouge and now, they had gotten through to the end…

The end….of…

"What's going on…?" Rouge whispered, watching Shadow with her good eye. Fear and worry shot up her spine as she watched him suffer. What happened!

He was smiling just a few moments ago!

Just what did he see or hear that caused him to go into such a fit…?

Leaning closer, she called out to him again and started to take off down the hall when a gruff arm snatched her back and threw her against the glass.

Crying out in excruciating pain, Rouge could barely hold herself up and started to sink towards the floor.

The faint whisper of his name fell from between her lips "…Shadow…" Slowly, she closed her eyes.

Knowing something was wrong, Shadow threw his eyes open and watched as one of the soldiers aim his weapon at Rouge and begun to pull the trigger.

Every nerve and breath in his body got caught in his throat as everything …went…black.

"NOOOO!" he boomed, his roar shaking the whole facility.

Breaking instantly from the restraints, Shadow's body erupted into an entity of pure fire, white flames rolling over his being.

"MURDERER!" he bellowed in a tone that was not his own.

Startled, the soldiers cowered before the new being before them and tried to run—but Shadow was not about to allow ANY of them to live for what they had done.

Raising his powerful arms to the air, the wavering energy of the 7 Chaos Emeralds suddenly materialized within his reach with each having a small sonic boom of their own. Concentrating, his rage as well as his power increased a thousand-fold. Shadow was no longer a fraction of himself.

He was now nothing more than a blood-craving monster.

Instantaneously, he gathered the ethereal he needed to teleport into the next room, where he eagerly slaughtered every soldier in sight with one swiping slice of his hand. One swipe, tore multitudes of them into halves on the spot.

Their pitiful cries for mercy were amusing to him now. Such feeble and weak disgusting creatures!

With one hand balled into a fist, Shadow plowed through more than a dozen of them and tore out their innards with one 'swish' of his wrist.

The hallways and rooms that he had been in and around him were nearly flooded with thick and putrid blood. Blood that seemed to cry out in vain to be saved as it assimilated with other like sinewy substances.

The ceilings…

The walls…

All strewn and splattered with blood and dismembered bodies…

His hands, his face, his nose—all speckled and dappled with a film of red.

His teeth—curved into an almost vampire-like grin…his eyes—dilated and racing .

Every strike, every blow, every move he made in destroying them…

He laughed, loving every despicable second of it.

'They will pay… They will pay!' The words repeated over and over through his mind as if his thoughts weren't even his own anymore.

His body was growing intensely hot—his insides ached and groaned with pain, torture and suffering, but he didn't care.

He didn't care.

His rage continued to grow, as did his unimaginable power…

Almost nothing could get through to him now…

Stirring, Rouge found herself still alive. How she was still alive she didn't know. Shuddering, she grimaced from the odd and uncomfortably warm feeling of a liquid surrounding her. Feeling her stomach beginning to lurch from the constant 'waves' that she felt, she slowly pushed herself up from the floor, clutching her midsection with an arm. Taking a breath of air, she nearly choked on it from the steamy and disgusting smell that was in the room. Hacking, she leaned against a wall and with great struggle, forced both of her eyes to open.

And from the brief flashes of unexplainable images she saw scattered all over the walls and ceiling, her stomach heaved and she threw a hand over her mouth and bent over to release her sickness. But once her eyes beheld the splashing rivers of blood stretching beyond as far as she could see, her stomach released its contents faster than she could realize what was happening.

Dizzying moments later, she lifted her head and wobbled in her steps, trying to keep her balance and to avoid falling into the mess below her.

'What happened…!' she shrieked in her mind. 'Where did he go…? Everything's so dark…!' "Shaaaadooow!" she called, her voice sounding slurred and distraught. "Shaadooooww! Where are y—" she paused, stopping to catch her breath. 'Where is he…' she wheezed in her mind. 'Where—'

Her thoughts were interrupted as her heart beat sharply all of a sudden—once—twice—multiple times. Rapidly, her breathing increased.

She was hyperventilating. 'I need to get out of here!' she cried in her mind and with a grimace and groans of pain, she managed to unravel her beaten wings and took flight.

Only mere seconds had passed and already she had begun to feel exhausted. How did things end up like this!

She didn't want to make herself think about it. Losing momentum, Rouge soon found the weight of her battered body weighing her down—lower and lower until she almost grazed the citrine river's surface.

She had to rest---she had to.

Nearing closer to her limit, she flew for a bit longer until her wings stopped working. In a last resort, she threw her body with all her might and remarkably landed on solid ground.

'I made it!' she cheered inwardly, glancing over to the bracelet. Shadow's bracelet. It had been smeared with blood now. Frantically Rouge forced herself to her knees and tore off a piece of her clothing to attempt to clean it.

'Shadow's bracelet…he gave this to me…after I gave it back to him… He had better come back to me…!'

"Shadow!" she cried.

Unknown to her, a soldier had somehow managed to escape freely of all the manslaughter, yet had wet himself, possibly in the process of sneaking away.

Creeping up nervously behind Rouge, he raised his weapon and prepared to striker her down with it.

"ALL OF THIS IS YOUR FAULT!" he cried, swinging the gun down.

It had been only inches from her head when a sudden swipe out of nowhere tackled the soldier roughly in the torso and twisted his neck. Once he landed on the floor, his body burst into flames and he melted upon its contact.

Mortified, Rouge quickly made herself turn away from the scene. Shuddering she opened her eyes to see—

"Shad…ow..!" she whispered, covering her mouth. It was him, except, in a way, it wasn't.

Dark fiery eyes peered down menacing at her, pinning her in place.

Never.

Shadow would never look at her like that.

Shadow had gone through so much pain and through such a transformation…from not caring about his life to actually wanting to stand up and fight for the both of them…as well as their future together.

This was…

This was not Shadow.

Gathering a newfound strength, Rouge stood boldly to her feet and stood directly in front of the Ultimate Life in front of her.

"Who are you…" she demanded lowly. "Who are you! Answer me!"

Smirking, he chuckled. "The Ultimate Lifeform. I go by no other name.

Alarmed, she gasped and took a step back. "Don't make me hurt you…! Give me back my Shadow, or I'll kill you."

"Kill me? Would you want to risk your precious Shadow taking my place? It's his body after all…"

Not listening to what he was saying, Rouge shut him out and concentrated on the slither of light in her heart that Shadow shared.

'Shadow…listen to me…I know you're in there… And I know you can hear me…'

The Ultimate Life laughed at her attempts and raised its arms—the emeralds becoming white hot and emanating intense power…

'Shadow…please… I'm coming to find you!'

With a wave of its arm, a quickening crack traveled up the west area of the building.

'…Shadow…'

With a curl of its fingers, two sets of cracks ran up the left area of the building. The floors and ceilings had begun to crumble and fall apart, but Rouge continued to stand her ground and unceasingly searched for Shadow.

'…You idiot…you promised me you'd be with me…and this is the thanks I get…Is this what I deserve…? Is this what we deserve! You lied to me once when you tried to end your life. Don't …lie to me again…'

The Ultimate Life suddenly paused in mid-destruction as something within it clicked. Staggering backwards, it grabbed its head and fell to its knees.

"No…No! He's…He's…coming out…. He's…awake…!"

'Shadow!" Rouge called, in her mind, still in deep concentration. 'Your heart is pure! You could never turn into something like this! You are not a killer! You're not! …You just need time to relax with me… This is… ' she trailed off, then her eyes fluttered open as another voice spoke softly along with hers.

"…_**This is what you wanted—to be loved…right…Shadow…?"**_

He gasped.

That voice!

Trembling the name of the girl he loved so dearly and who taught him to love fell from his quivering lips.

"Ma…Maria…"

What has he done! Everything he had built upon… everything he had done…

... For Maria… For Rouge… For all those that he loved…

Is this the way he showed them that he cared? By losing complete control?

Rouge…Rouge had never seen him in such a way before today. She had never seen him so driven by carnage and bloodshed… She had never seen him so uncontrolled and weak-willed.

He hated it.

"...And now I'm ending it…" he murmured.

Rouge blinked, not believing the words she heard from him at first and slowly sank to her knees. Slouching from exhaustion, she hesitantly extended a hand to his shoulder, barely grazing it with her touch before a sudden movement by him caused her to retract her hand.

"I…. I…" he started, trembling all over sadly. "I…I don't deserve you Rouge… I…!" he shivered, unable to finish his words and hung his head. Lukewarm tears traveled to his lashes and dangled from them.

Around them, the building continued to crumble and shake as it gradually fell apart. But nor Shadow or Rouge paid it any mind.

"I don't deserve anything!" he shouted, his dispirited voice wavering unevenly.

"Shadow…." Rouge whispered quietly, reaching out to touch him again. She hesitated only once then fully caressed his shoulder. But Shadow moved from under her touch.

"Don't…" he shuddered, starting to sniffle. "Don't…Rouge…I'm not worthy of you nor your love…"

"Stop it, Shadow!" Rouge commanded in a forced whisper, slapping him across the face.

Flinching, Shadow lightly reached up and moved his fingers across his face, rubbing the spot she struck.

"Stop it, huh?" Shadow reiterated, smiling.

Rouge gasped as her eyes widened.

Shadow was…smiling? He was finally smiling! But why! Just because she slapped him!

Rouge game him an odd and bewildered look, but Shadow had become too relaxed to notice it.

Taking a deep breath, Shadow looked to Rouge with a newfound confidence in his eyes. And from his sudden comfort, the emeralds retracted their immense power and dropped around him in a colorful ring.

"Heh… You know…Maria did the same thing. When I was on the verge of losing emotional control, she slapped me—just like you did just now.

…And I couldn't be more thankful." He said with an apologetic smile.

Gazing into his eyes and feeling all the sensations and emotions that lured her to him in the first place, Rouge laughed happily and threw her arms around him.

"Oh, Shadow! I'm just so glad that you're back…! You're finally back…"

Shadow said nothing for a moment, then lightly caressed her unkept hair and kissed her on the forehead. "Yeah…I'm back…"

"I was so worried…worried that you'd leave me and break your promise. I couldn't bear the thought of you being a liar, Shadow…"

Shadow said nothing as he held her, staring off into space.

Debris and pieces of metal and steel were beginning to fall all around them. And once most of the ceiling cleared away, Shadow jumped slightly as the cold liquid from the heavens showered down on him and Rouge.

Realizing what was happening, Rouge curiously looked up at Shadow. She too noticed the lab falling apart and clutched his arms slightly, as if to say 'Come on, let's get out of here.'

But Shadow didn't budge and solemnly closed his eyes.

"...Shadow…?" Rouge called softly, tugging at the tuft of fur on his chest. It wasn't stark white anymore. Now it was dirtied and tangled with blood and other substance she didn't care to know.

"Shadow…" she tried again, but to no avail. She gasped as panic struck through her. He was still alive wasn't he? He was just talking seconds ago! Immediately she looked at his hand, then his abdomen and lastly at his mouth.

His hand was still.

His abdomen was moving and he was breathing through his mouth.

Relieved, she relaxed. But his sudden silence and lack of movement was worrying her.

"…Shadow…answer me…"

Taking a short and shallow breath, Shadow slowly allowed his heavy lids to lift and looked to her with an emotionless expression.

There, he spoke.

"Rouge…" he said, taking her dirtied hands lightly in his.

She was a little embarrassed from them being so covered in substances she preferred not to think about, but she boldly answered him with earnest eyes.

"Yes?"

Those eyes… So pure… So loving…

Gazing into such lucid and beautiful jewels, it took nearly all Shadow had just to fight back a sob. "Rouge…" he croaked, patting her hand. "Leave me here…"

Rouge couldn't believe what she had just heard and for a moment, she didn't. When he said nothing else, she shook her head in disbelief. "What!"

Uncomfortable things had to be this way, Shadow glanced to her, then shifted uncomfortably. "I need to settle things. Just leave me here…"

"No I'm not letting you stay here Shadow!" she claimed sadly, grasping his hands tighter. Then her pain turned into anger. "Why! Why don't you want us to stay together Shadow! Do you want my memories of you to be a lie? Do you want them to be you as nothing more than a liar!"

"…Rouge…" he whispered, shutting his eyes in remorse.

"No! You lied to me! You lied to me, you lied to yourself---! Tell me, Shadow, did you lie to our children too!"

Our children… 

At the sound of those very words, Shadow couldn't hold it back any longer and his whole body shook as his emotions overpowered him and tears cascaded down his face.

His features were soon completely covered in liquid, both warm and cool and neither could be told apart.

Knowing she must have hit a sensitive point, Rouge guiltily leaned closer to him and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Shadow…?"

To her, he said nothing, but sharply raised his head to the sympathetic heavens above and released a mournful yell deep from within a shattered and tormented heart.

His anguish.

His fear.

His suffering.

All of it…all of it separated from him.

Being lied to, being used, being tortured by illusions of his "unborn children"…

Even if they themselves weren't real or never existed, even as spirits, he wished…that somehow, someway, his children would unite with him…

And Rouge…

Shuddering, he finally began to calm down. Lowering his head, he wiped his face roughly with the back of his arm and brought his attention to the marks and scratches on his legs.

"…. Those children they…"

"They…?" Rouge lowly asked, trying to get him to continue.

Shaking his head, Shadow took hold of her hand and placed it on his chest--directly over heart.

"Rouge…if you…believe in any kind of miracle…then maybe someday you'll get to see our children….Our real children…"

"What? Shadow I…I don't understand…" Then she looked away from him in guilt. "I …I never told you this, but I can't have…"

Silencing her, Shadow pulled her into his arms and covered her mouth with his.

Moments passed and debris continued to fall and crumble around them.

It was ironic—the night they shared their first kiss was almost exactly the same as this one--and possibly their last.

As much as he loved Rouge, he knew he had to settle things with the voices of his past that haunted him. Until that was cleared from his being, he would continue to have episodes and threats from them and possibly put Rouge and the two of them in danger again.

So…to prevent that from happening and to protect the woman he loved so dearly, Shadow decided to take that disheartening task and cleanse the pain entirely.

'He's going away…' Rouge thought, tears beginning to form beneath her lashes and mingling with the falling droplets. '...Shadow…is going to leave me …again…'

Shadow knew that Rouge understood his obligations to tie up loose ends, and for that he was grateful.

Allowing himself to bask in her warmth one last time, he hugged her gently, then gradually started to fade.

As she hugged him, his body had begun to feel lighter and lighter with each passing second. Not knowing what was happening, Rouge slowly opened her eyes, but inhaled sharply when her curved arms held absolutely nothing at all.

Shadow…was gone.

Staring wide eyed at her now shaking hands, Rouge balled them into fists and brought them securely to her abdomen—as if she were hugging as much as she could of what was left of him and his essence.

Whimpering lightly, she continued to cry for him, but did not mourn him.

She knew…she just knew that he'd be back somehow, someday. Moments later, she composed herself and began to wander out of the collapsing building. From afar, she watched it completely fall into itself and break into multiple pieces.

Needless to say, that lab would not be missed.

She didn't see it as a grave site and she didn't see it as a place to remember Shadow by.

He was always with her and she would never forget that.

Even though he was 'temporarily' gone, as she put it, she was left behind and still had to face the judgment of being executed the next morning.

But that was allright.

'I'll get out of it somehow.' She thought. But where else was she to go?

"I'll find you, Shadow. ...Somehow…somewhere… But for now, I'm going to wait. And you had better come back…"

she whispered into the air.

Standing upon a steep hill, she watched the downpour melt into sunrise that day. "Wherever you are, I'm going with you!" she stated, also making a wish with those words. Closing her eyes, she lifted her head towards the sky and outstretched her arms—the 7 chaos emeralds in a multicolored ring beneath her feet.

Softly they began to glow…

-

The end?

Please give me extremely critical feedback.

-Mel


	6. Epilouge

**A/N: Because you demanded it, here's a continuation. I planned on adding something after the previous chapter, but I didn't know what, but now I do **

--

Shadow and Rouge in… Nothing Lasts Forever: Epilogue 

"**_When caught in the stream of days and nights going past, gaze anew at your steps… for there all the confusion will end."_** _Sorcerer's Book (KH2)_

--

Voices.

Endless voices.

They pursued him.

...Wouldn't let him go…

Was his sacrifice in vain?

His body had disappeared, but his essence continued to live on.

Why?

Why did it continue to live?

Was it because he wanted to live, or...was it for 'her'?

Gradually, complete silence eclipsed the raspy and overlapping voices.

Soon, from that silence, a soft gentle sound spiraled delicately into his mind.

_**"You are alive as long as there are those that show care for you."**_

…That voice---soft, sweet and understanding…

_Maria…_

If Maria was indeed there, he knew exactly where he had gone.

Slowly, the essence known as "Shadow" slowly lifted his heavy lids from his eyes and 'awakened'.

_Where… Where are you…?_ he wondered, his voice wavering within the unknown space. …_Did someone bring me here? … I thought I—_

Died?

He didn't think he would ever return to this place—this empty void where nothing but the voices of spirits and those stuck in-between worlds lingered. He never actually saw any of those other tortured souls. The only lost and trapped spirit he ever really saw was Maria's.

Could it possibly be that he could only see her because he knew her?

Far off in the distance, the soft sound of footsteps echoed throughout the void. They were small steps—timid and delicate, but exact. The closer they seemed, the warmer their essence became.

Slowly and carefully, the steps neared closer and Shadow anticipated their full arrival.

Once the warmth reached him in its near entirety, he softly let his eyes crumble to a close and accepted the sensation.

Closer and closer it crept, and Shadow welcomed it eagerly with widespread arms.

_Maria…_ he uttered in his thoughts.

Then suddenly, the progression of the warmth stopped. Curious as to why, the hedgehog's eyes instantly opened in bewilderment.

In shock, a faint echo of a gasp escaped him as he beheld the spirit of the young girl before him.

Standing poised with her hands securely clasped together in front of her, the young girl gazed down at him. Instead of cheerfully greeting him, Shadow could detect a hint of sadness swimming in her lucid eyes.

Wordlessly, he forced a flicker of a thin smile, then turned sadly away from her. Part of him was glad to see her, but, under the circumstances of how he was able to, he wasn't too thrilled about it.

And neither was she.

A long silence fell between the two of them as they were only mere inches away from the other.

The girl knew what he had done to return to this place in-between worlds, and her expressions told the whole story.

Softly, she called out to him. "Shadow…" she voiced in a slight whisper.

When the one who was being referred to looked her way, his vision soon became obstructed as she fell to her knees and embraced him in a very large hug.

Gripping him tightly, her shoulders began to shake as did her form. Warm crystalline tears formed beneath her eyes and caressed her soft cheeks upon their descent.

"You came back…" she murmured, her words slightly muffled from her holding him so closely. "…Shadow… you came back…"

Nodding slowly, he returned her embrace. "I'm sorry…" he spoke tenderly, rubbing her back, his fingers lightly brushing against the ends of her hair.

"I know… I know you are…but don't worry, Shadow. I forgive you…" she said, barely audible.

They wanted to see the other again, but not like this. They knew it was wrong, but both were thankful they actually did get to see the other. Being in-between worlds allowed the opportunity to be returned to the world from whence they came.

As this meant hope for Shadow, it also meant hope for Maria and the others as well. However, there is a place for everyone, and Maria accepted hers. And now that she knew how much Shadow cared for Rouge and vice versa, she could contently step back and allow them to continue with their love.

She had no desire of returning to the world she was born from. Her 'son' had grown up and moved on. She was fine with directing him in the right directions and giving him, and also Rouge, sound words of advice when needed.

Especially when they least expected it.

And that was her goal-—to guide them and to be there.

She couldn't see directly into their futures, but she had some pretty good hunches.

Silencing her cries, she slowly pulled away from him and placed her hands on his shoulders. Nodding to him, she smiled sadly and gave his shoulders a squeeze.

"She's looking for you, Shadow. Did you know that?"

Smiling faintly from the thought of Rouge always being there, he chuckled a bit. "…Of course I know… Rouge can never sit still when it involves me… She's always willing to help…" he trailed off, his memories of her continuing to drift into his mind.

Seeing this, the girl smiled broadly and hugged him one last time.

"Goto her…!" she whispered, pushing him. But because he was not willing to leave just yet, he remained next to her.

Shaking his head, he took one of her hands in his and patted it. "I can't go back now. Not yet. I…still have some loose ends to tie up before I can see Rouge again…"

The girl placed a finger to her chin in contemplative thought. "Hmm…and what might that be?" she asked, referring to the 'loose ends'. Then her eyes lowered. "It's those voices you've been hearing, isn't it?"

He nodded, not looking at her. "Yeah…I need to get rid of them. I don't want to continue being a threat to Rouge like this…"

"Then… don't be. It's that simple, Shadow. Do what you believe is best to do."

Curious, the hedgehog raised his eyebrows in understanding. "What I believe is best…huh. Allright…"

The girl nodded and smiled at him for a brief moment, but it quickly faded. "…Shadow…" she began softly, her light voice sounding as if it could be part of the calm wind whispering through a meadow somewhere. "I know you want things to change…but the more you end up here, drifting, the longer its going to take. Yes, it was good to see you again, but it should not ever happen again. Not like this. You're lucky you're not doing this alone." Then she giggled. "Not everyone has someone to watch over them like you do." She mused, playfully hinting to herself.

Her words caused him to blink, then a smile crept across his lips as his features brightened. The thought of her being a guardian angel of some sort seemed to fit her perfectly.

Having an idea of what he was thinking, the girl's eyes lowered slyly and with a small smile, she rose to her feet and helped him up as well.

Stepping closer to her, he opened his mouth to speak, but she placed a finger to his lips to stop him.

"No, allow me." She whispered and hugged him once more. Planting a feathery kiss on the top of his head, the girl drew her delicate fingertips upto his face and cupped his cheeks.

"Now… you don't have to do this, but this is the best advice I can give you. Stay by your lover's side…"

The hedgehog nodded. He wasn't sure where all this was going, but continued to listen anyway.

"…And also…" she paused, her lids lowering as well as her hands as they slid to his shoulders. "…Please, Shadow…never…come back here…again."

"What?" he questioned but before he had the opportunity to utter another word, she again gave him a small push. Only this time, he actually willed to return to Rouge-—unresolved problems and all.

Issues or not, he realized that he couldn't save himself---without her.

Closing his eyes as he fell through the void and through the depths of the unknown, the faint sound of the sweet and maternal young girl's comforting voice lingered delicately in his ears.

_**" …I will always be with you…"**_

--

It was daybreak.

Rouge continued to stand on the summit, waiting and hoping for a sign that her hedgehog would return to her. The emeralds continued to glow, but nothing and no one appeared.

After minutes, that seemed like hours of nothing happening, Rouge had only then begun to feel the strain and stress of all the two of them had been through the night before and fell to her knees.

The wind drifted softly through the air and ruffled the grass against her leg. Shuddering as if she felt nothing, but knew it was there, Rouge looked down to the grass and watched it sway with sympathetic eyes.

It continued to bend and sway with the changing courses of the wind, but did not become damaged. Her eyes lingered on the path of flora that peeked out from under her weight. Although she were crushing it, it still responded to the wind's caresses.

Why...why didn't it succumb to its demise?

Why was it still alive—responding to life as if nothing had happened?

Narrowing her eyes, in the back of her mind, she had to admit that she was feeling pretty jealous of the grass right now.

Why couldn't she withstand the crushing weight of reality and still be eager to continue on?

Because she had lost all that really mattered to her? Because she had no place else left to go?

Her body began to shudder as a dull sting of tears nipped from behind her eyes but she held them back.

Slowly, she let her heavy and worn out body sink further down into the grass and laid there. "Shadow…" she whispered, fighting the urges and pleads her body was telling her to just give up and rest.

But stubbornly, she continued to wait for him—ignoring the fact that she would be found by GUN soon and collected to be executed. Part of her accepted that out of exhaustion, while another part of her refused to be killed by them—especially in front of that man…

The President…

The thoughts of actually accepting authority under the eyes of that wretched man got her stomach to churn. If she had known that he was going to turn on her like this, she would have taken him down one of the countless number of times when she'd had the chance to.

But all that aside, she was suffering now. She received no comfort, no sympathy. She waited and received no reply, but she had stayed with him as long as she could and was able.

Lowering her lids, she took a final gaze at the bright fiery sun before her. She shivered as its warmth began to almost feel foreign and strange to her.

It had been so cold lately—but now that Shadow had gone, the sun finally chose to show itself?

Was that how things went?

She forced the ridiculous thought from her mind. 'Don't be so foolish, Rouge' she told herself. Then she thought about it another way. Maybe the sun resurfacing was another way of saying some of Shadow's pain had ended and he would be able to shed some light on his situation?

She chuckled weakly and lightly lowered her lids a little more.

She was making things way deeper than what they were.

Or so she wanted to believe.

A faint ripple of air drifted from between her lips as a sigh. She had been too exhausted to manage it properly.

Laying almost completely motionless, save for her breathing, Rouge let one smile curve her lips as her eyes crumbled to a close.

The wind began to increase in its speed at that moment-—the grass and trees in the area starting to sway and bend a little more than what was considered normal.

Seconds later, a military chopper with the letters GUN striped across it on either side meticulously hovered a mere 5 feet away from her prone form.

With the wind from the chopper blowing everything wildly, two husky silhouettes leapt out the doors of the helicopter and jogged over to Rouge's body.

Carefully, theyreached down, bending at the knees, and securely lifted Rouge with both of them holding onto her from either side. One of them took hold of her legs while the other lifted her by the shoulders.

Discreetly, they carried her over to the vehicle and re-entered the door, with her limp form in tow.

Once its cargo was secured safely, the helicopter rose from the summit and took off into the skies.

Luckily, the persons ignored the chaos emeralds, as they continued to lay in the grass, seemingly unmoved or untouched by the wind.

It was as if they were rooted in the ground, but solidly in place, they remained.

And just moments later, a bright white light sparked in the center of their colorful ring and their soft and faint glow intensified instantly.

There was a sudden and blinding supernova of light—its luminosity engulfing nearly half the size of Central City in its entirety. Once the brightness lessened, in its center, the lithe and powerful form of Shadow the Hedgehog …appeared.


End file.
